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THE 



CONTINENT 



IN 1835. 



SKETCHES 



BELGIUM, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, SAVOY, 
AND FRANCE • 



INCLUDING HISTORICAL NOTICES; 



STATEMENTS RELATIVE TO THE EXISTING ASPECT OF THE 
PROTESTANT RELIGION IN THOSE COUNTRIES, 



BY JOHN HOPPUS, M. A. 



PROFESSOR OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN MIND, AND L00IC, J 
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, 



u 

NEW YORK: 
THEODORE FOSTER, 

WUa ROOMS, CORNER OF PINE-STREET AJTD BROADWAY. 
M DCCC XXXVIL 



A 



rt 









ADVERTISEMENT TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 



The author of this work, in his introduction, has thought it necessary 
to use a little of that literary coquetry, which is thought to give an air 
of modesty to the writer. He ought not to have done so ; for whether 
his public duties in society be considered, or the direction in which 
his travels have been pursued, it must be manifest that there is a wide 
field for investigation. It is true that a journey through Belgium, 
Germany, Switzerland, and France, necessarily includes a course in 
which the most dense of European population, the most striking of 
European events, the most important of European revolutions, and the 
most profound depths of European learning and science, have place ; 
and that, consequently, they are visited by myriads of strangers and 
described under innumerable aspects. 

Yet, on these very accounts a new work from the pen of one whose 
public functions embrace the consideration of " the philosophy of the 
human mind," is one to be caught at with avidity and examined with 
care. From such a writer, the public expect investigations of a more 
profound and important nature than those which occupy the common- 
place book of an ordinary journalist; they believe that he will look 
beneath the surfaces of things, and that whilst he describes passing 
events and actual scenes, he traces back to their causes, he proceeds 
forwards in their consequences, and suggests useful reflection. This 
has been the case with many before the author of this book ; but it is 
remarkable that, of the thousand who thus occupy themselves, it is 
very rare that any two make the same kind of inquiries their chief 
object, consequently there is always something new, and generally 
something useful in all the various works of this nature. 

The most prominent feature of this book is the regard which the 
author has paid to the customs, belief, and superstitions, of those who 
live in Catholic countries. He has marked with great minuteness 
all that was found to transgress his notions of reasonable devotion, 
and has been sedulous in exposing the cruelties and persecutions which, 
under the name of piety and love of the true faith, havo been poured 
upon the heads of the "refractory and obstinate.' 1 He lias been de- 
eircus of calling general attention to these things, in the conviction 
that a cool and unbiassed survey would awaken men's minds to a sense 
of religious truth, and bo an effectual check to bigotry. And this, the 



author contends, is the only fair way to make truth triumphant. He 
denounces, in unequivocal terms, the use of the strong hand in putting 
down any sect of religion, however noxious to the welfare of society 
it may be, and looks for the establishment of truth through the exhibi- 
tion ol her in her beauty, and by placing her in collision with artifice 
or fanaticism. 

But although this is evidently a leading purpose with him, he has 
been far from unmindful of other important matters. In Belgium he 
has briefly but rapidly traced her history, her intrigues, her struggles, 
and her occasional sufferings from the earliest inroads of the Franks 
to the later days of Leopold. In Germany he has given a summary 
of her political history, from the victories of the Roman Mariustothe 
establishment of the present Germanic confederation. With equal 
despatch, yet with equal skill, he has sketched out the struggles of Swit- 
zerland for independence, and the changes and revolutions that have 
happened to Savoy. His epitome of the French history shows him 
capable of seizing the precise points which constitute the most mark- 
ed outline of that history, and his speculations and descriptions of the 
origin and progress of the French Revolution are well worthy of pe- 
rusal. 

However, therefore, the reader may fancy himself familiar with the 
countries, the people, the manners, politics, religion, and arts, which 
are included within the bounds here set down, it may afford him satis- 
faction to see subjects brought under investigation which never before 
struck him, or seen through a medium in which they were never be- 
io.e presented. They are the production of one who has a high pro- 
fessional reputation at stake, they present numerous new ideas and 
irkiWs of the matters on which they treat, they are liberal and candid 
in ex] ression, ami their style imparts an interest which, whilst it is 
pleasing to the reader, reacts upon the work itself, and gives it an in- 
creased authority and weight. 



PREFACE. 



He who ventures to add to the list of travels, over regions that have 
become familiar to so many who leave their native shores in quest of 
health, or relaxation, may, perhaps, hazard, from some, the imputa- 
tion of vanity, or presumption. 

Others may be disposed to a more lenient construction of his mo- 
tives: — he received, it may be, intense gratification from many of the 
objects which came under his observation : — they appeared to him in- 
vested with as great a charm of novelty, as though no one had trod- 
den the same ground before him ; and this might have been the im- 
pulse which prompted him to compose his journal on the spot, and 
afterwards to begin transcribing it, — originally with the view of fixing 
in his mind, by a permanent record, scenes which he might never 
more revisit. After some attention had been devoted to this review 
of his notes, the impression might easily be felt, that he had materials 
for a volume, which might gratify some indulgent friends, — especially 
if they themselves had thrown into the scale, the weight of their own 
expressed wishes for some details. 

In a manner similar to this, the author has been induced to submit 
the following pages to the candor of his readers; and it occurred to 
him that by adding some compendious historical notices, connected 
with the several countries, he might render the publication in somo de- 
gree instructive to Young People; and that by interspersing an ordi- 
nary subject with references to that which, of all others, is the most 
momentous in its bearing on the welfare of nations, and of individuals 
— the State and Progress of Religion, his work might not be destitute 
of a Moral Use. 

If the author has expressed himself freely respecting the Roman 
Catholic religion, or the tenets that have been avowed by many of tho 
Protestants on the Continent, he has taken the common liberty of giv- 
ing utterance to his own views of Truth : — but it is his entire convic- 
tion that no body of men ought to suffer any inconvenience whatever, 
as members of the State, on account of their religious opinions, — or 
their mode of worship, so long as tho latter does not necessarily in- 
volve, in itself, some overt breach of public order, or morality. Ar- 
gument and persuasion are the only proper weapons of Truth, and 
perfect Religious Liberty is tho bost arena on which she may achieve. 
her triumph*. To withhold equal civil rights, benefits, or advantages, 
from any portion of our fellow-men, on account of religion, is bigotry, 
intolerance, and persecution: — to regard all icligious opinions alike, is 
incompatible witk maintaining tho idea of a revelation. 
1* 



CONTENTS 



LETTER I. 

PAGE 

Voyage ; and its contrast with one in August 1833— Landing in Bel- 
gium—Ostend — Siege of 1601 — Travelling — Romanism in Belgium 
— Military mass at St. Peter's — English Church — Sunday Evening 
— Canal, and country — Bruges — Nunnery — Churches — Academy — 
Former prosperity, and subsequent decay of the city — Passage to 
Ghent — Superstition — Approach to Ghent — Ancient grandeur of 
Belgium — Ghent — Its vast size — Costume — Churches, and charge 
for funeral masses — Town-house — Grand Mass at the cathedral in 
honour of Leopold's accession — Splendour of the church — Costly 
pulpit — Anecdote of Napoleon and the Ghent clergy — Public library 
and garden — Charles V.'s cannon — Trade 1 

LETTER II. 

Road to Antwerp through the Pays de Waes— Traces of the seige of 
1832— Changed feeling towards the Catholic clergy, and remark of 
Bishop Hall — Expense of travelling — Passage across the Scheldt 
from the Tete de Flandre — Antwerp — Hotel d'Antoine — Former 
vast trade, and wealth— Cathedral— Q,uin tin Matsys— Church of 
the Dominicans, and its Calvary, and Purgatory— Church of the 
Jesuits — Museum — Citadel — Bombardment of the city by the Dutch 
in 1830 — Seige and capture of the citadel by the French in 1832; — 
Impressive effect of contrast — Waelham — Mechlin — Cathedral ; its 
massy pulpit — Vilvorde — William Tyndale — Anticipations from the 
rail-road system — Brussels — Hotel de Brabant — Passport — Town- 
house — St. Gudule — Extraordinary pulpit — Jubilee of two hundred 
and fifty years in honour of the Tres- Saint Sacrement de Miracle; 
and the origin of this festival — Ignorance — Manner m which devo- 
tions are sometimes performed — Notre Dame — St. Jacques — Park 
— Peter the Great — Palace of the Prince of Orange — Palace of the 
States General — Museum — Universite Libre de Belgiqus 17 

LETTER III. 

Road through the forest of Soignies — Waterloo— Carnage at this and 
the preceding battles — Road to Namur — Country near the city — Its 
situation — Churches, including the Cathedral — Heights — Sunday 
fair — Fete de la Sainte Vierge — Historical Sketch, from the Roman 
Invasion — Battle between Caesar and the Nervii — Frankish do- 
minion — Dependence on the Empire — Petty States — House of Bur- 
gundy — Spanish connexion and dominion — Charles V. — Philip II. 
— William of Nassau — Cruel persecutions — Atrocities of Alva — 
Union of Utrecht — Assassination of William — Ancient opulence of 
the Cities of Brabant and Flanders — Archduke Albert-— Louis XIV. 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAGR 

and the Triple Alliance — War of the Spanish succession — Peace of 
Utrecht — Austrian dominion — Incorporation with France — United 
Kingdom of the Netherlands — Leopold of Saxe Coburg, first King 
of the Belgians 30 

LETTER IV. 

View of Namur— Valley of the Meuse—Huy— Aspect of the country 
— Liege — Church of St. Jacques, and St. Odilia's veritable eye, ana 
eau benite— Cathedral — University — Palace of the Prince-Bishops — 
View of Liege from Belle Vue — Long-continued clearness of the 
atmosphere — Pavilion Anglais — View from one of the bridges — Dia- 
lect—Liege prompt to join in the Revolution of 1830— Causes of the 
Revolution — Dislike of the Dutch connexion — Preference to France 
— Effect of the previous French Revolution of 1830 — Taxes of the 
mouture, and abattage — Political prosecutions — VanMaanen — Acts 
of violence August 25 — Efforts of the Prince of Orange ineffectual — 
Provisional government — Dutch troops driven from Brussels — Bel- 
gic Congress — Leopold elected king — Manifestation of feeling to- 
wards Romish ceremonies — Brief sketch of the history of the Pro- 
testant religion in Belgium — Exterminating persecutions — Revival 
under the Dutch sway — Check it reeeivedin 1832 — Recent efforts — 
Romish clergy opposed to religious freedom 40 

LETTER V. 

Road to Aix-la-Chapelle — Prussian frontier — Germany — Town-house 
— Mineral waters — Change in the coin — Public walks — Cathedral — 
Charlemagne — Relics, in the sanctuary — General outline of German 
history — Conflicts between the German tribes and the Romans — 
Empire of Charlemagne — Its division — Extinction of the Carlovin- 
gian dynasty in Germany — The German empire elective — Houseof 
Saxony — House of Franconia — House of Suabia — Great interreg- 
num — Rudolph, and the first Austrian dynasty — Second Austrian 
dynasty, or Lorraine branch — Dignity of the Holy Roman Empire — 
Effect of the French Revolution, and the subsequent power of Bona- 
parte — Confederation of the Rhine; and dissolution of the German 
empire — Austrian empire — Gigantic efforts of Germany against the 
return of Bonaparte to power, in 1815 — Germanic Confederation* •• 52 

LETTER VI. 

Road to Cologne — Juliers — Bergheim — Catholic Subscription for the 
New Testament, in German — Cologne — The Rhine — Churches — 
Deutz — Cologne Cathedral — The Three Kings — Churches of St. 
Ursula, St. Gereon, and St. Peter — Voyage on the Rhine to Bonn — 
Fieschi — The Seven Mountains — Bonn — Cathedral — Popplesdorf— - 
Kreutzberg — Protestant Church at Bonn — Church of the Jesuits — 
King of Prussia's Birth-Day — University of Bonn 65 

LETTER VII. 

Description of the Rhine, from Bonn to Coblentz — Drachenfels — 
Godesburg — Nonnen worth — Rolandseck — Oberwinter — Unkel — 
Remagen — Apollinarisberg — Erpel — Okkenfels — Linz — Sinzig — Ar- 
genfels — Breisig — Rheineck — Hammerstein — Leutesdorf — Ander- 
nach — Floating Bridges — Rafts-- Weissenthurm— Neuwied— Engers 
— Ehrenbreitstein — Coblentz — The Rhine from Coblentz to Maintz 
— Tombleson' s Views — Ober-lahns tein — Marksburg — Boppai t — St. 
Goar — Oberwesel — Caub — Bacharach — Bingen — Ellfield — Cassel 
— Maintz — Drusus Germanicus — Roman Antiquities — Cathedral* •• 77 



CONTENTS. V 

PAGE 
LETTER VIII. 

Road to Frankfurt — Hotels — Collections — Monument to the Hessians 
— Sachsenhausen — Domkirche — Bible Depository — History of 
Frankfurt — Educational system— Rationalism— Controversies — Se- 
cular authority in the Church — Intolerance — Scholastic theology — 
Thirty years' war — Early opponents of the scholastic system — 
Pietism — Degeneracy of Pietism — Bengel and Storr — German phi- 
losophy — Its connexion with theology — Leibnitz — English Deists — 
French literature — Frederic II. — Nicolai — Eclecticism — Neological 
tendencies — Semler — Kantian philosophy — Scientific theory — Na- 
ture-philosophy — Philosophy of sentiment — Hegel's Idealism — In- 
fidelity of Rationalism — Periodicals — Bretschneider's distinction — 
Opponents of Rationalism — Schleiermacher — Progress of the doc- 
trines of the Reformation — Frankfurt — Maintz — Berg — Bremen — 
Hamburgh — Mecklenburg — Hanover — Brunswick — Weimar — Sax- 
ony — Prussian Saxony — Wdrtemberg — Prussia — New Liturgy.. ... 88 

LETTER IX. 

Watch-towers— Darmstadt— -The Schloss — The Bergstrasse— Auer- 
bach — Smoking — Huge grasshoppers — Storks — Neuenheim — Hei- 
delberg — Churches — Ravages of war — The Castle — The University 
— Durlach — Carlsruhe — Lutheran church — Schloss — Radstadt — 
Baden-Baden — Castle-dungeon — Mineral waters — Visitors — Ulm — 
Rustic wedding — Kehl — Strasburg — Cathedral — Romish ordination 
— Marshal Saxe's monument— Preserved bodies — Freiburg — Miin- 

ster — Approach to Switzerland 112 

LETTER X. 

Basle — Miinster-Kirche — University — Costume — Automatic figure — 
Bishopric of Basle — Swiss disturbances after the late French Revo- 
lution — In the Canton of Basle, in 1833 — Journey Jo Luzern — Storm 
on the Hauenstein — Olten — Lake of Sempach Luzern — Costumes 
-^-Fracas — Sketch of Swiss History — Helve tii — Rhaeti — Romans 
— Burgundians — Alemanni — Ostrogothe — Franks — The Kingdoms 
of Lower, and Upper Burgundy, and of Aries and Burgundy — House 
of Zahringen — Rudolph — Albert — The Three Swiss and William 
Tell — Battle of Morgartan — Battle of Sempach — Swiss Confedera- 
tion — Effect of French Revolution — Helvetic Republic — Act of Me- 
diation — Restoration of Swiss Independence — Constitution of the 
Swiss Cantons — Political Parties * • • • \2Q 

LETTER XI. 

Fall of the Rossberg — Lake of the Four Cantons — Alpnach — Valley 
of Sarnen — Saxeln — St. Nicholas de Flue — Alpine Thunder-storm 
— Lake of Lungern — Village of Lungern — Swiss Cottages — The 
Briinig Alp— Vale of Oberhasli — Lake of Brientz— Tracht— The 
Giessbach — Interlachen — Grindelwald — The Glaciers — Avalanches. 154 

LETTER XII. 

Valley of Lauterbrunnen— The Jungfrau— The Staub-bach— Interla- 
chen— English Chapel— Vicinity of Interlachen— Hofstetter's Pen- 
sion— Awkward situation on the Aarderberg— Unterseen — The Jung- 
frau— Road to the Valley of Frutigen— Chalets— Village of Frutigen 
Kanderthal— Kandersteg— Advice of Guides 173 

LETTER XIII. 

Departure from Kandersteg for the Gemmi— Mannschaft— Ascent— 
—Schwarbach— Canton of Wallis— Snows of the Gemmi— Dauben 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
See— Glaciers-; View of the Pennine Alps from the Gemini— Descent 
—Activity of the mountain- guides, in bounding along the edges of 
precipices — The Valley — Leuker-Bad — Avalanches — Journey to 
Leuk — Valley of the Rhone — Romantic view of Leuk — Romanism 
— Charnel-house Chapel — Costume — Valley of the Rhone— Sion — 
Recent Avalanche from the Dent Blanche — Goitres — Martigny — 
Deluge of 1818 — Upper and Lower Valais. 184 

LETTER XIV. 

Ascent of the Forclas — Trient — The Tete Noire — Savoy ; the Valor- 
sine — Romanism — Sight of Mont Blanc — Valley of Chamonix — 
Glaciers, de Tour, d'Argentiere, and Des Bois — Chamonix — Moon- 
light — Sound of Avalanche — Mont Blanc — Ascents — Ascent of 
Montanvert — The Merde Glace — Chamois-hunting — TheBouquetm 198 

LETTER XV. 
Chamonix — Superstition — Effect of Alps-«-Road lo Servoz — View of 
Mont Blanc — the Needle of Varens — Fall of Chede — Romanism — 
View of Mont Blanc from Salienche — The Cholera — Cascade of 
Arpenas — Cluse — Bonneville — Savoyard History — Attempt of Po- 
lish Refugees, in 1834, to produce revolution — Religious State of 
Savoy- • • •- 213 

LETTER XVI. 

Lake of Geneva, and the Jura mountains — The city — Administration 
of the Eucharist in the Cathedral — Magnificent views— Library of 
the Academy — Museum — The Cathedral — Calvin — Rousseau — Vol- 
taire — Circle of Light — Centenary of the Reformation, August 1835 
— Church of Geneva — Seceders; Eglise du Temoignage — Societe 
Evangelique — Religious Institutions — Genevan History 221 

LETTER XVII. 

The Lake of Geneva — Jerome Bonaparte— Lausanne— Gibbon— Head 
of the Lake — Castle of Chillon — Rousseau — Vevay — Quadrennial 
fete— Edmund Ludlow— Biille— Freyburg— The Cathedral— Ro- 
manism — Liberty taken with Scripture — The Hermitage — The Sus- 
pension Bridge — Extraordinary Situation of Freyburg — Mixture of 
Languages — Alemanni, and Franks — Road to Bern — Costume — 
Bern — Its beauty — Cathedral — Bears — Arsenal — Public Buildings — 
Road to Soleure — Capuchin friars — Canton of Bern — Costume — 
Magnificent views of the Northern Chain — Last sight of the Alps • 232 

LETTER XVIII. 

Canton of Soleure — The City — Cathedral of St. Ursus — Romanism — 
The Weissenstein — Pass of the Jura — The Jura mountains — Isolated 
masses — Hollstein — Swiss cookery, and dinners — Liechstall — Basle 
— Swies Travelling— Punishment for distributing religious Tracts 
in Schwytz — French Church — Missionary College — Religion in 
Switzerland — Present State and Prospects — Education 251 

LETTER XIX. 

Departure from Basle — Huningen — St. Louis — Alsace — History — 
Douane — Mullhausen — Befort — Vesoul — Langres — Chaumont — 
Nogent — Provins — Nangis — Road to Paris — Military Operations 

and events of 1814 • • • * 263 

LETTER XX. 

Sketch of French History— Feudal divisions — Franks — The Me- 
rovingian Dynasty— Clovis — Maires du Palais, and.RoisFaineans^ 



CONTENTS. Vll 



Carlovinman Dynasty — Pepin — Charlemagne — Charles the Bald — 
Charles le Gros — Capetian Dynasty — Hugh Capet — Feudal Sys- 
tem—Philip II.— Louis IX. or St. Louis— Philip III.— Philip IV.— 
Valois Branch of the House of Capet— Charles IV.— Philip VI.— 
Wars with England — Charles VI. — Charles VII. — Joan d'Arc — 
Louis XL — Charles VIII. — Orleans Branch of Capet — Louis XII. 
— Second House of Valois Capet— Francis I.— Francis II. — Religi- 
ous Wars — Persecution of Protestants — Charles IX.— Massacre of 
St. Bartholomew's Day — Bourbon Line— Henry IV.— Louis XIII. 
Richelieu— Louis XIV— Mazarin— Louis XV.— Louis XVI. 269 

LETTER XXL 

Causes of the Revolution of 1789- Inadaptation of the political Sys- 
tem — The Press— The Reformation— Revival of Classical Literature 
— Louis XIII. — Louis XIV.— Louis XV. — Finances— Romish Re- 
ligion — Examples of Revolutions — Philosophers — Taxation — Cor- 
ruption of Manners— Character of Louis XVI. — The Queen's Court 
— Situation of the Parliaments and the Sovereign — Assembly of 
the Notables — Riot in St. Antoine— The States General — Storming 
of the Bastile — Riot at Versailles — The Federation— Riot in the 
Champ de Mars— Constituent Assembly — 20th June— 10th of Au- 
gust, 1792— Committee of Safety— Massacre of Prisoners— National 
Convention — Mountain Party — Reign of Terror — The Directory — 
The Consulate— The Empire— Fall of Bonaparte 276 

LETTER XXII. 

Paris— Messageries — Situation, and general appearance — The Seine- 
Bridges— Quays — Extent — Mode of numbering houses— Camera 
Obscura — Views from the Bridges— Purity of the atmosphere- 
Want of planted squares— Barrieres— Boulevards— Passion for 
amusement— French character— Execution — Effect of events- 
Palais des Thermes— Palais Royal— Tuileries — Place du Carrousel 
—The Louvre— Place VendOme— Place Louis Quinze— Magni- 
ficence— Arc de l'Etoile— Hotel des Invalides— Churches — NOtre 
Dame, etc. — The Luxembourg— ;Bourse— Jardin du Roi— The 
Pantheon— Gobelins — Glaces— Resolution of 1830 299 

LETTER XXIII. 

Religion in France— History of Protestantism — Persecutions— Pre- 
sent state of Protestantism— Institutions, and exertions— Tolera- 
tion— Moral state of France— Infidelity— Romanism— Demoraliza- 
tion of the capital— Versailles -St. Cloud— Mont Calvaire— Ruel— 
St. Denis— Amiens. 331 



SKETCHES ON THE CONTINENT, 
in 1835. 



LETTER I. 

Voyage; and its contrast with one in August 1833— Landing in Belgium 
Ostend— Siege of 1601 — Travelling — Romanism in Belgium — Military 
mass at St. Peter's — English Church — Sunday Evening — Canal, and 
country — Bruges — Nunnery — Churches — Academy — Former prosper- 
ity, and subsequent decay of the city — Passage to Ghent — Superstition 
— Approack to Ghent — Ancient Grandeur of Belgium— Ghent — Its vast 
size— Costume — Churches, and charge for funeral masses — Town- 
house—Grand Mass at the Cathedral in honor of Leopold's accession 
— Splendor of the church — Costly pulpit— Anecdote of Napoleon and 
the Ghent clergy — Public library and garden — Charles V.'s canon — 
Trade, 

My dear Friend : An evening in July, 1835, saw our party on 
board the Earl of Liverpool steam-boat; with the advantage 
before us of sleeping away a part of the voyage. I rose at an 
early hour, and found that we had advanced far down the 
river, and were rapidly gliding on, with the water as smooth 
as glass, and every prospect of a delightful passage to Ostend. 
How different the scene — when, two summers ago, some of 
us crossed the same sea, from Antwerp to the Thames, at the 
commencement oi that awful storm which bestrewed the 
shores of the Channel with the wrecks of so many vessels, 
and caused so many human beings to drink death in the briny 
wave ; and among the rest, the unhappy convicts who crowd- 
ed the decks of the Amphitrite ! — Then a wild, ominous black- 
ness, and a chill whistling blast, at the outset of our voyage, 
were the presages of a sea that ran fearfully high, and swept 
over our deck, so as to imprison us all closely in the cabin ; 
while the rapid and thundering pulsations of the steam engine 
contending with the fury of the adverse winds and waves, the 
heaving and straining of the vessel, and her incessant rolling 



8 SEA STORM OF 1838. 

and clashing with the billows — added considerable apprehen- 
sion of danger to the distressing malady of the sea. — Night 
then closed on an increasing storm, and the friendly beacons 
looked dim on the shore, long ere we were permitted to reach 
it — having escaped, by the gracious providence of Heaven, 
the more hair-breadth danger that awaited the passengers in 
the Talbot, from Ostend, whom the merest casualty had pre- 
vented us from joining ; and who, after bearing all the brunt 
of the storm for two whole nights and the intervening day, 
were wrecked in the harbour from which they had set out ; 
some being washed into the sea out of the small boat, though 
happily without loss of life. 

But now all was the reverse — a brilliant sun — a calm, lux- 
urious atmosphere, breathing but a zephyr over the mighty 
expanse, without sensibly affecting the motion of the vessel ; 
which moved so steadily along, that but for the sound of the 
rushing water, we might almost have imagined ourselves pro- 
pelled across the surface of a vast solid mirror, whose varied 
and ever-changing tints blended beautifully with the reflected 
azure of the heavens. An agreeable company of between 
thirty and forty persons, the placid easy countenances of the 
helmsman and the sailors, and the quiet leisure air that per- 
vaded the whole party, conspired with the weather to give a 
character to this voyage, in no way more formidable than that 
of a trip on the Clyde from Glasgow to Dumbarton, or from 
London to Richmond on the Thames. — The declining sun was 
pouring an undiminished flood of golden light upon the sea 
behind us, when our near approach to the low fiat shore of 
Ostend, and the foreign appearance of the church, the light- 
house, and the town-hall, announced that we had measured the 
gulf which has been the appointed guardian of Britain's inde- 
pendence ; and has proved to her a more powerful defence 
than a rampart of Alps, or a standing army equal to the hosts 
of Xerxes. The distance from London is about one hundred 
and thirty miles, but land was not out of sight more than two 
or three hours. 

This harbor is one of the finest in Europe : and the basin 
and the sluices, chiefly the work of Joseph II. of Austria, de- 
serve notice. The town itself is very strongly fortified, recall- 
ing to the mind the deeds of war, of which it has been the 
scene — especially that memorable siege, begun in 1601, which 
ended, after three years, in its capitulation to Albert of Aus- 
tria, to whom the Netherlands were given with the Infanta of 
Spain, by Philip II. In enforcing the claim of Albert, 80 000 
Spaniards perished in the trenches of Ostend ; 50,000 of the 
inhabitants, and of the garrison, fell victims to famine, pesti- 
lence, and the sword ; and the conquerers were at length mas- 
ters, not of a town, but of a heap of ruins. Such is the devas- 
tation of war I 



OSTEND. 9 

The walk between the ramparts and the sea is magnificent, 
and is the great point of attraction during the bathing season; 
and the sea-view, along an extensive shore of sand, is exceed- 
ingly fine. The town is respectable in its appearance, and 
the size of many of its buildings gives it an imposing air.— 
Here began that interminable annoyance to the English trav- 
eller, the passport and searching system. This settled — and 
the scramble for us among the inn-keepers' agents over — we 
were comfortably domiciliated, with about a dozen other Eng- 
lish people, at the Cour Imperiale. Some of the party with 
whom we had crossed the water, set off immediately for Brus- 
sels ; and the clumsy and inelegant carriage that was provid- 
ed for them, drawn by horses of unequal height, very indiffer- 
ently harnessed, and with rope traces, reminded us that we 
were no longer in our own land. The large white caps of the 
women, the hoods of their black cloaks, used instead of bon- 
nets, and the appearance and sound of their wooden shoes, 
tended to confirm the impression that all around us was for- 
eign. 

To the English, who, happily, are not accustomed to see 
Popery as a national religion, the churches on the continent, 
almost always open, are objects of curious, and often of painful 
interest. Belgium, from the times of ihe Spanish dominion, 
and the terrors of the Spanish sword in support of Romanism, 
became almost proverbial for bigotry and superstition ; and it 
may seem extraordinary that the present Pope is reported to 
have declared, that the two countries which now give him the 
most satisfaction, are Belgium and America ; — for it is said 
that in America, the Jesuits have made not a little impression 
by their schools. 

St. Peter's church is showily ornamented in the interior 
with images and pictures, but contains little that is re- 
markable. We observed at the altar of the Virgin, many 
small waxen models of arms, legs, teeth, and the like ; which 
had been hung up as offerings in her honor, for cures supposed 
to have been received through her agency : the same was the 
case at other altars. In this way do these poor devotees wor- 
ship the creature rather than the Creator ! On the outside of 
the church, in carved and painted wood, is a horrible repre- 
sentation of purgatory. The poor wretches are seen tortured 
in a flaming dungeon, and their countenances have a truly 
piteous expression of beseeching agony. An inscription in 
Flemish appeared to be an appeal to the compassion of the 
passer by, to help the miserable souls in purgatory, by money 
and good works ! There is also outside the north door, in a 
glass case, an image of the Virgin, as large as life, attired in a 
flowing white muslin veil ; a long taper is placed on each 
side, which, if lighted, in so narrow a space, would apparently 



10 OSTENB. 

expose our lady to no small danger, and might render neces- 
sary the manufacture of another goddess. Beneath this case 
is an inscription, stating that the Holy Virgin is the help of 
man, particularly in death ! This is the common doctrine of 
popery, and the Virgin may, without much allowance for 
figure, be said to be the great idol of the Romish community. 
There is also, in another case, an image of Christ ; or, in the 
language of the Catholics, a oon Dieu; and. at each of these 
two places, as well as at the Purgatory, is a strong chest, with 
a chink for money : the Virgin, however, seemed to have more 
visitors than either the Saviour or the tormented souls. 

It was Saturday evening when we arrived at Ostend. On 
the following morning, previously to attending the Protestant 
service, we again looked into the church to witness the Cath- 
olic worship. A regiment of soldiers marched in, with drums 
beating, and took their position in the middle aisle. At the 
moment when the priest appeared in his gorgeous mantle at 
the aitar, bowing in solitary pomp before the holy symbol, 
the drums saluted him with a sort of rappel, which continued 
for some time. The effect, viewed as connected with the pro- 
fessed worship of God, was irreverent in the extreme. Mass 
began, and the soldiers still wore their caps, and appeared 
totally indifferent to the service, as though it were not meant 
for them. The officers, especially, in their gay regimentals, 
seemed very smiling and careless. The service was the mili- 
tary mass, and was very short ; for, in these parts, soldiers 
appear to be a sort of privileged beings ; even religion must 
accommodate itself to their convenience; and it is too evident 
that their profession is but ill-adapted to cherish habits of de- 
votion. They certainly did not seem to take the smallest in- 
terest in what was going on, any more than if they had been 
keeping guard in a Hindoo temple : the people in general, 
however, with whom the church was filled, were apparently 
very devout. It is impossible not to pity the people ; — they 
so often appear simple and sincere : but to believe that the 
priests do not know better, is felt to be a somewhat greater 
demand on charity ; though we should never forget to make 
allowances for their very exclusive and bigoted education. 

We now repaired to the English Episcopal church — a plain, 
neat place, without galleries, but containing a small organ, and 
capable of holding about three hundred persons ; which is more 
than double the number that was present. The sermon was 
practical and useful, and was delivered in a very distinct and 
becoming manner. There is a pew in this church appropria- 
ted to the king ; and we were told that when Leopold comes 
to Ostend, he appears to join devoutly in the Protestant ser- 
vice. The Archbishop of Mechlin, however, was employed to 
baptize the heir apparent to the Belgian crown : this was one 



CANAL TO BRUGES. 11 

of those compromises, in a Protestant Prince, which may be 
regarded, perhaps, as a necessary piece of worldly policy ; but 
even the stability of a throne is dearly purchased by such a 
sacrifice. — Many of the shops were open, and others half-open, 
during the day; but in the afternoon, all semblance of the 
Christian sabbath appeared to be thrown off; the coffee-houses 
and public-places were crowded ; and, later in the evening, 
all the children and young girls of the place seemed to be 
gathered together for the purpose of dancing. 

Early on the following morning, we were on our way to 
Bruges, on board the Elegante Messagere, a very convenient 
vessel, drawn along a magnificent canal, by horses on its 
bank, through a very flat, but rich and well-cultivated country. 
Not far from Ostend, were pointed out the remains of one of 
the old mills for sawing timber, of which there were twenty 
in a row, during the period of the Belgic wealth and industry ; 
but the French destroyed these machines, or took away their 
works, at the time of the great revolution. Yet, though the 
trade, and the glory of the olden days of Belgium, are depart- 
ed, the fertility of nature remains, and our eyes were greeted 
by the plenteous harvest, now standing in luxuriant sheaves 
in the beautiful corn-fields ; while, here and there, the sound 
of the mountain-bell was obeyed by neatly-dressed worship- 
pers, repairing along the banks of the canal to church. Pro- 
testants might learn many lessons from Roman Catholics ; and 
among the rest, their habit of early devotion. 

Bruges pleased us much : it is situated in a rich plain, about 
twelve miles from Ostend ; and is a very fine city, — exceed- 
ingly clean, and with a considerable appearance of business. 
The lofty and curious tower of the Town-House, in the spa- 
cious square, is a striking object, consisting of two structures, 
— the lower being square, and supporting another which is oc- 
tangular ; and the brilliant and musical carillon, or chimes, 
the finest it is said in Belgium, which are continually telling 
in shrill, yet harmonious tones, of the lapse of time, unite with 
the antiquated and sombre grandeur of many of the buildings, 
to lend to the scene an impression of romance. In the con- 
vent of St. Jean, to which we obtained admission, some beau- 
tiful old paintings were shown, which carried us back four 
hundred years, into the midnight depths of superstition. The 
dress of the nuns presented another unaltered feature of the 
Romish dominion over mind and conscience. In the gallery 
of the gloomy chapel, which is paved with black and white 
marble, the inmates, who are in number twenty-two, were 
chanting in a tone which sounded dolorous and servile, and 
any thing but the accent of happy, cheerful piety : it was like 
the mechanical responses of charity children, but vastly more 
plaintive ; and we fancied that these poor recluses could not 



22 BRUGES. 

fail to draw many a painful contrast between their own for- 
mal and monotonous existence, and ihe light-heartedness they 
witness in those travellers whom curiosity attracts to their 
dull convent. 

The churches in this city are fine. St. Anne's is a hand- 
some building in the Grecian style, and was under repair. 
The cathedral of St. Donato is a large and massive, but some- 
what inharmonious structure, containing the tomb of John 
Van Eyck, the inventor of painting in oil, — two of whose pic- 
tures are here. The interior of this church, as well as that of 
Notre Dame, is richly ornamented with paintings, and with 
carved altars, pulpits, and confessionals. Notre Dame and 
Saint Salvador are both numerously peopled with statues. In 
the former were uncovered the magnificent tombs of Charles 
the Bold, and his daughter Mary, of the house of Burgun- 
dy ; which, in the fifteenth century, united in itself the petty 
sovereignties of the Netherlands. These gorgeous sepulchres 
present the figures of the duke and his daughter, of copper 
gilt, in a reclining posture ; and were repaired by order of 
Napoleon. This church is also said to contain the splendid 
vestments of Thomas a Becket, adorned with precious stones ; 
but we did not see these memorials of that proud, ambitious 
saint. It has also one of those magnificently carved pulpits, 
so frequent in the Netherlands, which a Protestant can 
scarcely gaze on without thinking of the contrast there is be- 
tween the simplicity of the gospel and the pomp of some of 
these half-heathen temples. The splendor of St. Salvador in 
candelabra, altars, marble, and paintings, is extreme : the 
screen, of black and white marble, is furnished with gates of 
brass ; and the walls of the church are adorned wi'h the pro- 
ductions of the genius of Van Os, of Cels, and of Vandyke. 
Here were exposed for sale, wax tapers, models of saints, and 
their legendary tales in the form of small tracts. Several of 
the tapers were purchased by devotees, and immediately 
placed before some favorite image. A party of women enter- 
ed the church, and either to save trouble, or exhibit friend- 
ship, one dipped her finger into the holy water, and gave a 
hasty touch to the rest : this sufficed as a preparation for ap- 
proach to the altar. In all these churches are chests, some of 
them very large, placed before the pictures and altars ; indeed, 
scarcely a saint is without his money-box. 

Bruges was once eminently distinguished for the fine arts ; 
and it still possesses an academy containing some fine old 
paintings, and a handsome room for the sittings of the mem- 
bers. The tragical generally leaves a moie powerful impres- 
sion on the mind than the beautiful ; and one piece here struck 
us as peculiarly horrible, representing a man being flayed 
alive, in the most formal and solemn manner, by several exe- 



CANAL TO GHENT. 13 

CUtioners ; but the history of this painting we did not learn, as 
the woman who attended us could speak not a word of any- 
thing but Flemish.— The number of priests seen walking in 
the streets of this city, the very marked appearance which 
their black robes and cocked hats give to them, their courtly 
and perpetual bows to the citizens, and their politeness to 
strangers, stamp a decided character on the scene, which can- 
not fail to be felt by the traveller who has recently left Eng- 
land. 

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Bruges was the 
mart of nations ; and during the period of its prosperity, a 
forest of shipping might be seen in its port of Siuys. It was 
a leading city of the Hanseatic league, which was a confedera- 
tion of sixty towns for the protection and advancement of com- 
merce ; and here was the grand depot of their naval stores. 
The merchants of all n ttions had their magazines ana their 
consuls, in this place — the heart of European trade ; and eigh- 
teen Gothic mansions, adorned with towers, statues, and coats 
of arms, still remain, as memorials of the past, to testify what 
was once the commercial glory and the wealth of Bruges. 
The queen of France, when in this city in 1301, is said to have 
exclaimed, 1 1 thought I should have been the only queen here; 
I find, however, there are hundreds more.' But luxury and 
pride, in connection with political dissensions, and quarrels 
with the ruling powers, proved the ruin of this immense trade ; 
and, like Tyre of old, Bruges fell from her envious and dan- 
gerous elevation. The Hanseatic league withdrew their fac- 
tories from the place, in a great measure on account of the 
haughty and overbearing spirit manifested towards them by 
the citizens ; and Maximilian of Austria, husband of the sole 
daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold, blocked up the port. 
Bruges never recovered this blow, though it has still a con- 
siderable trade, and is a flourishing town. Many retired mer- 
chants reside here ; and many English families have selected 
Bruges as their residence, considering it one of the cheapest 
and most agreeable places of abode. 

Another boat took us to Ghent, through a country still more 
richly cultivated, and considerably wooded. This canal is 
not so wide as that between Ostend and Bruges ; but the land- 
scape is prettier, and more enclosed, often adorned with rows 
of trees along the water side, and occasionally interspersed 
with quantities of linen, the industry of the country, bleaching 
on the banks; while the vessels we every now and then met, 
of the same description of our own, coming from Ghent, added 
life and bustle to the otherwise magnificent monotony of these 
straight and unvarying canals. Another circumstance, how- 
ever, tended to relieve the dullness, though not in the most 
pleasant way ; for one of our track-horses suddenly became 



14 <JHENT. 

restive, and kicked and plunged in such a manner as to be 
within a little of thrusting the two other horses, and the driver, 
down the high and steep bank into the water ; the vessel at the 
same time was violently jerked, so as almost to throw us, for 
the moment, off our feet ; but the rope was instantly detached, 
and after ten minutes' delay we proceeded in safety : the same 
horse, we were told, had, a few days before, dragged the two 
others into the canal. Most of the horses we saw in this part 
of Belgium were large and powerful ; and the wagons had an 
antique, but not inelegant appearance, — Everywhere in this 
fine country you either see the sombre and monastic remnants 
of former superstition, in the ancient and heavy buildings which 
remain as its representatives; or you trace its lingering forms 
on the living population. We had observed that many of the 
young women of the country wore a ring on the fourth finger 
of the right hand ; this we were informed by a very intelligent 
lady on board, is used as a kind of charm, — it having been 
blessed by the priest, and being designed to drive away from 
the wearer all evil ! Is it possible that the priests can believe 
this 1 

As we approached Ghent, several country seats adorned 
the banks of the canal ; and the sun, which was setting im- 
mediately behind us, poured along the extended line of water 
a glowing but chastened radiance, and beautifully illuminated 
the distant vista ; which with the richness of the fields and 
plantations, formed a scene of quiet glory ; and as the light 
diminished, the double lines of trees extending for a league in 
length up to Ghent, and a massy tower closing the view, and 
reflected in the water with the dark foliage of the trees on both 
sides, produced, as we drew nearer, an effect of peculiar so- 
lemnity and grandeur. The shadows of the past seemed to 
hover over the scene ; and fancy could not but dwell upon the 
times of which these canals are the splendid monuments : — the 
Burgundian and Spanish dynasties seemed present to imagi- 
nation ; — the former splendor and opulence of a country that 
possessed resources greater than any other part of the vast 
empire of Charles V. ; — the cruelties of the Spanish dominion ; 
— the deep and murderous bigotry of the papal church, aided 
by the arm of the civil power ;— the atrocities of the infamous 
Duke of Alva ; — and whatever memory recalled that was il- 
lustrious, or tragical, in the history of this remarkable country ; 
which, especially in this part of it, seems to the traveller to 
abound in images and memorials of decayed grandeur. 

It was the dusk of the evening before we arrived at the Hotel 
de Flandre, having been seven hours travelling about thirty 
miles — the distance from Bruges. The charge for four persons, 
was eight francs, or scarcely twenty pence each ; — from Ostend 
to Bruges only seven francs and a half, including breakfast : 



GHENT. 15 

these conveyances, however, are certainly somewhat tedious, 
but the country is seen to more advantage than from the inside 
of a carriage. The next morning we set out to explore some 
parts of this vast city, which is three mites in length, and about 
seven in circumference, with a population of eighty thousand. 
This town was once larger than Paris, which led to the bonmot 
of Charles V., who said he could put all Paris into his glove, 
(Gand.) Almost all the women we met in the streets wore 
cloaks which seemed far more adapted to winter than to an 
oppressively hot day in summer. We also observed that, gen- 
erally, they had ornaments, apparently of gold, such as chains, 
clasps, and rings. Ghent might employ the traveller a week, 
but we could spare no more than a day. It is much larger 
than Bruges, but less pleasing in its general appearance ; 
though the views of the massy ranges of buildings from some 
of its three hundred bridges over the canals which surround 
it, and from some other points, are fine. In the church of St. 
Michael, the objects which struck us were eleven rich and 
splendid altars ; an ecce hoino, or a statue of Christ crowned 
with thorns; Vandyke's beautiful painting of the crucifixion ; 
and some other pieces of great merit : — in short, finer efforts 
of the pencil, ancient and modern, than we had before seen since 
we landed. The nave of this edifice is admired for its bold 
and imposing effect. The organ also is remarkable, resem- 
bling a large shrine — an idea that has been imitated in the 
beautiful new church at Margate. The interior of St. Nicho- 
las is handsome : — but that of the church of the Dominicans 
presented a striking exhibition of decay ; its old pictures, altars, 
and ornaments, all being faded in the extreme. Our guide, 
who seemed intelligent, and not very well affected towards the 
priests, informed us, while in this church, that they are fre- 
quently very exorbitant in their charges for masses for the 
dead ; and that the expense of the highest funeral service 
amounts to an enormous sum. 

The university, founded in 1816, is a handsome edifice, with 
a numerous staff of professors, and four or five hundred stu- 
dents : it contains a very fine hall with a number of pictures 
highly worth seeing, among which are many modern works. 
The Town-Hall is magnificent and immense, with a front 
which has nearly a hundred windows : this splendid edifice, 
however, is too much confined to be seen to advantage. The 
deep and sonorous sound of the bell of the ancient Belfry 
Tower, the lower part of which is used as a prison, now ar- 
rested our attention ; and we found that this day was the fourth 
anniversary of the accession of Leopold. We hastened to the 
splendid cathedral of St. Bavon, rich in black and white mar- 
ble ; and in this land of costly churches one of the finest. At 
eleven o'clock a most pompous mass began, performed by 



16 GHENT. 

richly-dressed priests, and acccompanied with the musical 
thunder of the pealing organ reverberating through the aisles ; 
so that the whole effect was very striking. But, oh — to call 
this divine worship ! some people were walking al out ; some 
crossing themselves at the receptacle for holy water ; some 
gazing at the magnificent altars ; others down on their knees 
praying by themselves, and appearing to have no sympathy 
with the general service. The church was crowded with mili- 
tary, who as they stood in their ranks down the nave, talked 
and laughed in the most unconcerned manner possible. It was 
truly a strange mixture of a holiday, with all the genuflexions, 
and bowings, and mummery of popery. The church was hung 
with pictures in tapestry ; and the Bishop of Ghent, attended 
by a great number of his clergy, was present on the occasion, 
in his robes and mitre, as the great hierophant of these un- 
meaning ceremonies, which were also attended by the muni- 
cipal authorities. We obtained a very good place, not far 
from the high altar, and had an excellent view of the whole 
affair, which was certainly showy enough ; — but as a religious 
service truly melancholy. When mass was over, the bishop 
passed down the aisle between the soldiers to give them his 
blessing ; which, to judge from appearances, they did not very 
highly value. We were now at leisure to survey the church, 
which has no less than twenty-four side chapels, adorned with 
a profusion of pictures, and rich in brass and marble. The 
pulpit, of oak and white marble, is beautiful, and is supported 
by several large white marble figures of admirable expression : 
it cost, said the man who attended us, 120,000 florins, upwards 
of 10,000/. — a goodly price for a pulpit, and one that might 
have sufficed for several apostolic churches ! There are also, 
here, some fine tombs, especially that of Bishop Triest, who 
gave the four splendid candelabra near the altar : — the statue 
of the bishop is admirable. 

Perhaps there are few incidents which convey to the mind 
a stronger impression of the absolute authority of the great 
modern autocrat — the deposer and maker of potentates and 
powers, civil and ecclesiastical, than the anecdote related of 
him by Mr. Boyce, in his ' Belgian Traveller/ The Prince of 
Broglio, Bishop of Ghent, had offended Napoleon ; who, in 
consequence, imprisoned him, and supplied his place by a suc- 
cessor. The indignant clergy would not say mass with the 
new bishop, nor in any way acknowledge his authority. The 
imperial autocrat, with his usual despatch, immediately order- 
ed the ecclesiastics, to the number of two hundred and seventy, 
to be marched off to Antwerp, to work at the fortifications then 
going on at that place ! — Who, in Europe, in the nineteenth 
century, could have ventured on such a command, but either 
the Czar of all the Russias, from his icy palace on the Neva ; 



PATS BE WAES. 17 

—or the Turk under the sanction of the scymitar and the holy- 
crescent ; — or Buonaparte himself! 

We visited the public library, formerly the church of a con- 
vent, and well adapted for the reception of ten thousand vol- 
umes : it is furnished with a curious machine for using a great 
many books together, and turning them, as convenience may 
require, with no danger of their falling off. The shades of the 
Botanic garden near the library, were very grateful after the 
intense heat of the town. On returning to the inn, we passed 
near the linen market, or Marche de Vendredi, the enormous 
cannon, eighteen feet long and three wide, which Charles V. 
placed here, to keep the citizens in awe. The town has grown 
up around the old castle in which this monarch was born : it 
has been a place of prodigious trade, and still carries on manu- 
factures to a great extent. 



LETTER II. 

Road to Antwerp through the Paysde Waes. Traces of the siege of 1832. 
Changed feeling towards Catholic clergy, and remark of Bishop Hall. 
Expense of travelling. Passage across the Scheldt from Tete de 
Flandre. Antwerp. Hotel d'Antoine. Former vast trade, ana wealth. 
Cathedral. Quintin Matsys. Church of the Dominicans, and its Cal- 
vary, and Purgatory. Church of the Jesuits. Museum. Citadel. Bom- 
bardment of the city by the Dutch in 1830. Siege and capture of the 
citadel by the French in 1832. Impressive effect of contrast. Waelham. 
Mechlin. Cathedral ; its massy pulpit. Vilvorde. William Tyndale. 
Anticipations from the rail-road system. Brussels. Hotel de Brabant.' 
Passport Town-house. St. Gudule. Extraordinary pulpit. Jubilee 
of two hundred and fifty years in honor of the Tres-Saint Sacrementde 
Miracle ; and the origin of this festival. Jgnorance. Manner in which 
devotions are sometimes performed. Notre Dame. St. Jacques. Park. 
Peter the Great. Palace of the Prince of Orange. Palace of the States 
General; Museum. Universite Libre de Belgique. 

My Dear Friend : On leaving the great and important city 
of Ghent, we passed through the towns of Lokeren and St. 
Nicholas, to Antwerp. This country which is called the Pays 
de Waes, is famed as a complete model of agricultural indus- 
try. Every part is in the highest state of cultivation, and bears 
traces of the immense and unwearied labor, which has over- 
come the natural sterility of the sandy soil, and has rendered 
this tract a continued garden; it is scattered over with houses, 
and occasionally a handsome ch&ieau presents itself. The 
roads arc paved, in consequence of the looseness of the soil, 
which occasions a great deal of dust. The country is much 
enclosed, and there is an abundance of hemp and flax. Some 
2* 



18 ANTWERP. 

lace-makers sitting at their doors at work on the pillow, re- 
minded us of some parts of England. As we approached Ant*, 
werp the scene entirely changed ; large tracts being covered 
with sand, and the inundations which remain, presenting a 
gloomy contrast of the wasting effects which have followed in 
the train of war, to the cheerful results of human industry ; for 
these desolations, having the appearance of widely-extended 
lakes and marshes, were occasioned by the Dutch cutting 
through the dykes, during the late »iege, in order to lay the 
country under water. 

We had three or four priests, as fellow-travellers, in another 
part of the diligence, each with a book under his arm, and 
looking very clerical ; every time the diligence stopped they 
immediately got down, and went into the inn ; and on inquir- 
ing the cause which, in perfect simplicity, we thought might 
be some Romish errand, we were amused at the reply of a lady 
who travelled with us, in the interior, Ah Monsieur, les pretres 
out toujour s soif! The public feeling towards the priests, even 
in this favorite land of popery, is changed since the time when, 
upwards of two centuries ago, good Bishop Hall thought him- 
self in danger, at Antwerp, in gazing on a procession of holy 
fathers, in consequence of his « willing unreverence ;' had not, 
as he says, 'the hulk of a tall Brabanter* shadowed* him from 
notice. As a specimen of the travelling charges, by diligence, 
in this country, it may be stated that we paid twenty-two francs, 
in the interieur, or about four and sixpence each ; the distance 
is thirty-two miles. The most disagreeable part of this jour- 
ney was crossing the Scheldt, in a small and crowded boat, 
from the Ttte de Flandre to Antwerp, which in rough weather, 
must be a great inconvenience, as the distance is nearly half a 
mile. The lofty tower of the cathedral, rearing itself to heaven 
in solitary pre-eminence, has a remarkable effect across the 
water. The magnificent Hotel d'Antoine in the Place Verte 
received us. At the table d'hote some very free remarks were 
made respecting Leopold ; and the impression appeared to be 
that he was not very firmly seated on the throne — but time 
will prove ; — his alliance with France is certainly his palla- 
dium. 

Antwerp is a most imposing city ; the quays and basin are 
grand works, constructed by Napoleon : the Place de Mer, in 
which is a royal mansion, is considered one of the most mag- 
nificent streets in Europe; and the stately, antique edifices, 
which here and elsewhere rear themselves^ as the representa- 
tives of ages that are past, have a solemn and impressive effect, 
and silently record the story of departed greatness. But the 
general appearance of the city is much injured by the inter- 

* Jones's Life of Bishop Hall. 



ANTWERP. 10 

mixture of sumptuous buildings with inferior houses ; and the 
want of pavement is greatly felt here, as is the case in many 
continental towns. The splendid Town-House, in the great 
market-place, may be regarded as the tomb of Antwerp's 
glory ; — for its date, of the latter part of the sixteenth century, 
is coeval with that of the decay of the commerce of what was 
once the paragon of cities. The Exchange, which furnished 
the model of that of London, was built at the beginning of the 
same century. 

When the trade of Bruges declined; Antwerp rose at the ex- 
pense of the sister emporium; the Italian, Hanseatic, and 
"English merchants, were now seen to frequent the Scheldt ; 
_nd in the time of Charles V. this city became the liveliest, the 
most commercial, and the most splendid in Europe. From the 
waters that paid their homage to its renown, the fruits of Fle- 
mish industry found their way to Arabia and the East ; the 
productions of both the Indies, of Turkey, and of all trading 
countries from north to south, might be seen in its vast maga- 
zines, and its crowded markets ; and Flemish bills were ac- 
cepted in every quarter of the globe. In the middle of the 
16th century, the Scheldt often bore on its bosom, at the same 
time, two thousand sail of merchantmen ; and it was not un- 
common for five hundred, daily, to enter and leave the port ; 
while the weekly arrivals of carts and wagons, from various 
parts of the continent, were prodigious, and almost surpassing 
belief. The fortunes of the Antwerp merchants were such as 
kings might envy ; and it is related that when Charles V. had 
accepted an invitation to dine with one of them, of whom he 
had borrowed nearly a million sterling, the citizen-Croesus 
threw the security into the fire, saying, that the honor his im- 
perial guest had done him was equal to the value of the bill. 
But Antwerp was destined to see the wane of her glory : civil 
despotism, and ecclesiastical oppression, under »tne galling 
yoke of Rome-ridden Spain, c >mbined with the scourge of 
war, destroyed her immense trade ; and she has been for cen- 
turies but the shadow of her former self. 

The cathedral is a magnificent gothic pile, of vast dimen- 
sions with a tower of exquisite proportion and beauty, and the 
loftiest but one in Europe ; from which, on a former visit to 
this place, on the way to Holland, I enjoyed a view, to an im- 
mense extent, of a very flat, highly cultivated, and populous 
country. The nave of this church is considered to be un- 
rivalled in Belgium ; and as there is no screen, the view is un- 
interrupted, and on entering, the fine effect of the spacious 
interior is at once felt. An immense number of vaulted ar- 
cades are supported by massive pillars, to form the aisles, 
which are more numerous than in most of the cathedrals in 
Christendom. The absence of showy ornament adds much to 



20 ANTWEBP. 

the impression, which, as you enter at the west door, is chiefly 
that of simple majesty and grandeur. Here are Rubens's cele- 
brated pictures, the Elevation of the Cross, and the Descent. 
The painting of the Descent from the Cross, in the north tran- 
sept, attracts all eyes : the ghastly but superhuman counten- 
ance of the dead Saviour, and the deeply impressive effect of 
the whole scene, strongly arrest the amateur, whatever defects 
the professional connoisseur may detect in this master-piece. 
The Ascension of the Virgin, also by Rubens, adorns the high 
altar. There are some other beautiful pieces by the same and 
other hands, among which is a head of Christ, in the chapel of 
the Virgin, painted on marble by Vandyke. The superb 
organ ; the pulpit ; the marble pavement of the choir ; the 
admirable imitation of bas-relief, in painting, at the back of 
the high altar; the exquisitely-sculptured tomb of Bishop 
Ambrose Capello, by Verbruggen ; the altar-piece : the can- 
delabra, and the supporters of the cross, at the altar ; a picture 
of the agony in the garden, in a side chapel, with a striking 
expression of resignation ; some relics of saints ; and, to crown 
the whole, the figure of the Virgin as large as life, holding in 
her hand a large doll, representing the child Jesus, both being 
dressed in a very costly manner with candles burning before 
them, — were the principal remaining objects that attracted our 
attention, in surveying this proud and spacious temple of error. 
Near the' west front of the church, is the ornamental iron pump, 
made by the famous blacksmith, Quintin Matsys, before his 
love for the daughter of Flors made him a painter, in order to 
conciliate the good-will of her father, himself an artist. The 
tomb of Matsys, near the same spot, bears the inscription, 
Connubialis amor de Mulcibre fecit Apellem. 

The church of the Dominicans is exceedingly handsome ; 
and the orange-trees^ which were placed regularly under the 
arches had a very pleasing effect. Here was an immense and 
magnificent organ, many pictures of scenes in the life of 
Christ, splendid confessionals, all supported by saints and 
angels in carved wood, beautifully executed ; some fine 
statues ; a figure of St. Eligius with his unapostolic mitre, 
and living devotees bowing before him; and everywhere 
money-boxes : one of the figures which support the pulpit had 
an aperture, oddly enough, cut in his breast to receive contri- 
butions. The outside of this church, and the backs of a num- 
ber of houses, form an open space, which is the most popular 
resort of superstition in Antwerp ; being a very remarkable 
specimen of those contrivances called Calvaries. In the cor- 
ner of the area or court, at the end of the path leading across 
it, rock upon rock is piled up to a great height, in rude and 
striking, though artificial grandeur ; and the whole place is 
crowded with statues of scriptural, legendary, and angelic per- 



ANTWERP. 21 

sonages. On the top of the dark rocks is the Saviour, on the 
cross; many yards below, an angel is catching, in a chalice, a 
large stream of blood which is made to pour from his side; 
and under a rude arch at the base of the rocks, and below the 
level of the ground, is the holy sepulchre, where lies an image 
of Christ, pale and enshrouded in death, like a corpse laid out. 
A little to the left, in a gloomy recess, is represented all that 
imagination can conceive of the horrors of the purgatorial 
torment — agonized wretches with the most ghastly expression 
of countenance, are confined in the midst of fierce, red flames, 
behind bars of massy strength^ and seem, from the dungeon of 
their tortures, to cast imploring looks on the spectators ; who, 
if Catholics, very readily understand the meaning to be a re- 
quest for a prayer on their behalf, or for alms to procure 
masses for their deliverance from this fiery prison ! The 
cloisters of the church lead to this superstitious spot, and peo- 
ple were continually coming in and going out, who explained 
to us the various objects in reverential whispers. Here, one 
would be kneeling at a distance, with arms outstretched to- 
wards the scene of the crucifixion ; another pondering at the 
sepulchre; and a third crossing himself, as he entered the 
place where the carving representing purgatory inspired him 
with ghostly horror ! What a system for enslaving the minds 
of men with gloomy terrors ! 

The church of the Jesuit*, which has been re-opened since 
the Revolution of 1830, is not large, but its front is extremely 
rich and imposing : its interior is highly ornamented, and 
more obtrusively marked by superstition than many other 
churches, having in the centre a large canopy, beneath which 
were figures of the Virgin and Child, dressed in the most costly 
manner, and before them four wax-candles, and many tapers, 
burning : the candelabra, and the ornaments in general, are 
splendid, and the architecture is in the Grecian style. Myrtles, 
pomegranates, orange-trees, with the finest oleanders, and 
other flowers, in the richest bloom, decorated this temple. 
What benefits might not have been conferred on mankind, had 
but a portion of that wealth which has been so abundantly 
lavished in adorning the apostacy of Rome, been devoted to 
the alleviation of the temporal and spiritual miseries of the 
world I 

Before leaving this interesting and solemn- looking city, we 
paid a visit to the Museum, which contains many of the works 
of Rubens, some of which students were copying. Among 
those we admired most, was Christ crucified between the 
thieves, which is exceedingly expressive; also the Virgin and 
the Infant Jesus : the Burial of Christ, by Matsys, is beautiful ; 
the countenance is death itself, and the expression of grief in 
some of the females is exquisite. There are also other paint- 



22 



ANTWERP* 



ings in this fine collection, by Matsys, Albert Durer, Martin de 
Vos, Vandyke, Jordans, and other masters. Here also is 
Flors's hideous, but well-executed painting of the Fallen An- 
gels, who are represented as transformed into all imaginable 
monstrous and horrible shapes : on the body of one of these is 
the bee which Matsys painted in the absence of Flors, who on 
his return was about to brush it off, when he discovered that 
Matsys had become a painter. Here, too, Rubens's chair is 
preserved ; and in another part of the building is a collection 
of statues by Flemish masters, chiefly copied from the antique. 

On a sultry afternoon, we set off to explore the Citadel, 
which was strangely contrasted with what it was when I saw 
it, several years ago, when behind its parapets were .standing 
the furnaces for red-hotshot, which were employed in the late 
conflict between the Dutch and Belgians. This fortress is, or 
rather was, a monument of the Spanish dominion, having been 
constructed in 1568, under the direction of the Duke of Alva. 
During the progress of the Revolution of 1830, the Dutch 
retired into it, being driven from the city, on which it opened 
a dreadful fire, for seven hours, with two or three hundred 
pieces of cannon, showering down a storm of bomb-shells, and 
red-hot shot ; burning the vast entrepot, the arsenal, and many 
houses, amidst the terrors and shrieks of the flying inhabit- 
ants ; who endeavored, through this terrible cannonade, to 
make their escape over the flooded fields ; while, all night 
long, the roar of artillery was heard at Brussels, and the blaz- 
ing magazines, in which there happened to be a great quantity 
of sulphur, threw the terrific glare of war over a space of 
twenty leagues around. 

The Dutch were not dislodged from this stronghold till 
December 1832 ; when France and England united to compel 
them to fulfil the conditions of the treaty of the Five Powers, 
to which, as relating to the surrender of this fortress, the Dutch 
King was understood to have previously consented, by accept- 
ing the articles of the protocols. Immense lines of batteries 
were thrown up, in the adjacent fields, by Marshal Gerard, the 
French general ; who, with a large army, countenanced by 
the presence of the English fleet at the mouth of the Scheldt, 
wrested this last fortress from the tenacious grasp of the Dutch, 
after a three weeks' siege, on which all Europe looked with 
the most intense interest) from the possibility that the drama 
of the revolution might not end in this scene, but lead to a 
general war ; which happily, however, has not been the case. 
The citadel was literally razed to the ground ; but now, at the 
distance of two years and a half; it exhibits considerable 
symptoms of restoration. The underground communications 
conveyed the idea of great strength ; and we here saw the 
apartments occupied by General Chasse. The perfect silence 



MECHLIN, 23 

and solitariness of the extensive grassy area, and of the adja- 
cent country, over which the death-bearing shell once traced 
its fiery path in every direction in the sky, and the quiet 
repose of the neighboring city and its superb" cathedral-tower, 
seen in the sultry atmosphere of an intensely hot and brilliant 
afternoon, excited those powerfully contrasted feelings, which 
can scarcely be realised but on the very locality of great 
events. The storm of human passions, more terrible than any 
elemental war, was now hushed into a calm ; and the very 
stillness that reigned around seemed eloquent to tell of the 
madness and folly of mankind. 

On our way to Brussels, having passed through Waelham, 
one of the principal scenes of the revolutionary conflict be- 
tween the Dutch and Belgians, we stopped for the night at 
Mechlin, or Malines, which is an open, handsome town, with 
lofty and spacious houses, having the usual antique gable-end 
fronts with squared edges ; and in this land of fair cities, 
Mechlin made less impression on us, only in consequence of 
the very fine towns we had already seen. It is distant about 
twelve miles from Antwerp. In 1672, in the war which issued 
in the rejection of the Spanish yoke by the seven Provinces of 
Holland, and in the confirmation of the bondage of the other 
Netherlands, this town was the scene of the most unprovoked 
and brutal cruelties of the soldiers of the notorious Alva. 

The cathedral is the metropolitan church of Belgium : its 
massy tower, of extraordinary height, would have been almost 
a second Babel, had the original design for its elevation been 
executed ; but though unfinished, it is still a sufficiently tow- 
ering monument of ecclesiastical ambition. This church is 
certainly a magnificent edifice, and one of the most striking 
we had seen, for its architecture, its statues, and its remarkable 
pulpit, which is an enormous mass of carved wood, adorned 
with figures. 

On the continent you are continually reminded, in some way 
or other, of war; on our return from the church, a detachment 
of soldiers was marching through the town, escorting a train of 
artillery, each piece of cannon being drawn on a carriage by 
six horses ; we could not but reflect with grateful pleasure on 
the isolation of our own land from foreign enemies, and the con- 
sequent exemption it enjoys from the necessity of being always 
in a hostile attitude. 

The country from Antwerp to this place was highly culti- 
vated, and the harvest abundant ; the chief difference between 
the appearance of the landscape here and in many parts of 
England being the very frequent rows of trees, and the want 
of hedges by the road side. The head-dress of the Flemish 
women, and the diligence, drawn by three horses, also gave 
the scene a foreign air. In going from Mechlin to Brussels we 



24 VILVORDE. 

passed through Vilvorde, by the immense House of Correction* 
which will contain as many as two thousand prisoners. This 
prison, the extent of which Looks rather ominous for the morals 
of the neighborhood, is said to be a model of organisation and 
administration in general, and almost resembles a town, in the 
multitude of its work-shops, in which a great variety of articles 
are manufactured. It was at Vilvorde that William Tyn dale, 
the zealous English reformer, to vvhom we are indebted for 
the first English version of the Scriptures, was strangled, and 
his body burnt to ashes, after he had been long confined in 
prison, at the instigation of Henry VIII. and his court. He 
died repeatedly and fervently praying, 'Lord open the King 
of England's eyes !' As we advanced, the country assumed a 
more undulating appearance, with agreeable slopes and hills 
covered with villages and villas. The steam-carriage from 
Brussels to Mechlin was passing rapidly along, on our left, 
performing the distance, which, by the road we came, was 
eleven or twelve miles, in half an hour. The good people of 
Antwerp, it seems, are cherishing golden visions from the pro- 
gress of the rail-road system in Belgium ; some being willing 
to predict that it will recall to their city a prosperity which 
may be paralleled with that which it enjoyed in the most 
prosperous times of the Burgundian and the Spanish dominion. 

Within two miles of Brussels is the village of Laeken, and 
the royal palace of Schoenberg, which answers well to its 
name, having a handsome appearance, and being cnarmingly 
situated on elevated ground. This mansion was the occasional 
residence of Napoleon, whose palaces were almost as nume- 
rous as the apartments of those of other monarchs. The in- 
terior is said to be in the most splendid style. But one would 
suppose, from the existing position both of Belgium and of 
France, that their kings must, for some time to come, feel as 
though the sword of Damocles hung over them : — even the 
coins which we received in exchange, seemed to tell an im- 
pressive tale of the uncertainty of thrones and dynasties ; for 
on looking over some pieces, we found the heads of Louis XV., 
Louis XVI., Napoleon, Louis XVIII., Charles X., and Louis 
Philippe. 

On our approach to Brussels, the barges on the canal— - 
crammed with people, the concourse assembled in a neighbor- 
ing field, and the crowds that were pouring down that magni- 
ficent promenade of nearly a mile and a half in length, the 
Alike Verte, sooja made known to us that we were entering the 
city, at a time when, in a place of less magnitude, accommo- 
dations might have been difficult to obtain ; — as it was the 
grand day of the races. Whether this amusement is here at- 
tended with the demoralisation which has usually accompanied 
it in England, I know not; but it certainly appeared for the time. 



BRUSSELS. 25 

as much as with us, to absorb all other considerations among 
the votaries of pleasure, and to produce even a temporary sus- 
pension of business. In London, every thing, whether sacred 
or profane, is made to bow before the great Dagon ; but the 
style of transacting business in the capital of Belgium would 
seem to be rather different, and the reign of Plutus somewhat 
less absolute. Having occasion to go to a banking-house at 
an early hour in the afternoon, before the usual time for clos- 
ing the doors, I found that every thing was at a stand, and not 
a clerk to be seen : all were gone to the great scene of attrac- 
tion, and the reply to my inquiries was, On est allt a la course. 

Our accommodations at the Hotel de Brabant, which, though 
badly situated, is a magnificent inn, were far beyond what 
would have satisfied our ambition. I sallied forth to the Park, 
in the intense afternoon sun, on the important and perpetual 
business of the passport ; and, after a very long walk, found 
the office of the Prussian ambassador, for we were going into 
the dominions of his sovereign. I was here told that applica- 
tion must first be made at the British embassy, where I was in- 
formed that it was necessary to go to the Brussels police-office. 
I finished by learning a lesson, which all travellers will do 
well to remember ; that is, never to take the annoyance of the 
passport on themselves, but to give it to the commissioner of 
the hotel ; who, on being told when it will be wanted, is sure 
to return it at the proper time, duly signed, without any further 
trouble to the owner, and with a small charge. 

It would require far more than a mere sketch to describe a 
capital city, seven miles in circumference, containing 100,000 
inhabitants, with extensive suburbs without the walls, many 
elegant houses, charming walks, ornamental fountains, spa- 
cious squares and areas, sumptuous public buildings, magni- 
ficent hotels, fine churches, and numerous collections of the 
works of art. The town rises from the river Senne to an 
eminence on the east ; and though, in the lower and more an- 
cient parts, many of the streets are narrow and crooked, those 
in the neighborhood of the Park are straight and spacious ; 
and in this modern quarter there reigns an air of taste and 
elegance far beyond anything we had seen in Belgium. The 
Place Royale, is a very handsome, uniform square, containing 
some superb hotels, and other fine buildings. Brussels has 
little of that aspect of decayed grandeur which is so striking 
in Antwerp : its well-stocked and crowded markets, its nu- 
merous and busy shops, and its frequented streets ; — the cheer- 
fulness and beauty of its more modern parts, and the bustle 
and activity which prevail throughout, conspire to form a 
scene of liveliness and of traffic, which well harmonizes with 
its importance as the metropolis of this fine country. Though, 
like the other great cities, it has fallen from its ancient com- 

3 



26 BRUSSELS. 

mercial importance, it still carries on manufactures to a con- 
siderable extent. 

Belgium is remarkable for the splendor of its municipal edi- 
fices ; and the noble Town-House of this city, which forms one 
side of the magnificent oblong called the Grande Place, and 
rears its beautiful gothic steeple to the height of three hundred 
and sixty feet, has been the pride of Brussels for three or four 
centuries. After dark, the time was curiously indicated by 
the illumination of the single existing hour on the surface of 
the clock, smaller figures being used for the minutes. 

The church of St. Gudule is truly magnificent : its rich and 
beautiful storied windows, some of which are commemorative 
of Charles V. ; its statues ; its sepulchral monuments ; its 
altars ; its numerous chapels, of which several are quite gor- 
geous ; and its ornaments in general, render it exceedingly 
striking. The pulpit is the finest in all the Netherlands, and 
is a most extraordinary work ; it is less massy than that at 
Mechlin, but far more exquisite and costly ; and if the sermons 
preached in it bear any analogy to the rostrum from which 
they are delivered, they must indeed be of no common order. 
It is a wonderful piece of carving, in oak, representing the 
banishment of our first parents from Eden by an angel with 
a flaming sword : death appears behind ; and the serpent is 
seen coiled round the tree of knowledge : — above, under a 
canopy sustained by two angelic figures, are the Virgin, and 
the child Jesus, who crushes the serpent's head. The morning 
on which our perambulations led us to this temple of Romish 
splendor, happened to be that of a great festival ; and the 
church was hung with festoons of flowers, and many beautiful 
pieces of tapestry ; high mass had commenced with great 
pomp, to the sound of triumphant music, and the ' full-voiced 
choir ;' and a great number of priests, in their mantles of em- 
broidery and gold, and in all the paraphernalia of Rome, were 
officiating, amidst a profusion of tapers, and those clouds of 
incense which strongly remind the Protestant of the derogation 
which the church of Rome casts on Him whose intercession is 
so beautifully alluded to in the Revelation, as the much incense 
that is offered, with the prayers of all saints, before the throne.* 

On looking at the hand-bills that were put up in the church, 
it appeared that this was one of the fifteen days of the jubilee 
of two hundred and fifty years, designed to commemorate the 
re-establishment of the Catholic religion, in 1585, after the 
troubles of the Low Countries ; and the translation of the 
miraculous host, l le tres- Saint Sacrement de Miracle, which 
had been concealed to preserve it from the Iconoclasts. This 
event was celebrated by plenary indulgences, for certain 

* Rev. viii. 



BKUSSELS. 27 

specified good works ; and by the sermons of various priests, 
one of which was delivered after mass was over, with a sim- 
plicity and fervor of manner that was very interesting : it 
consisted of an exhortation to self-denia), but it was the self- 
denial of meritorious monkery and penance : and it was pain- 
ful to think that a numerous and listening auditory should 
have no means of hearing a clear exposition of the way of 
salvation. 

The Protestant religion, though rigorously opposed, had 
spread considerably in the Netherlands during the reign of 
Charles V. ; and under the yoke of Philip II. his son, the en- 
croachments of the Spaniards on the liberties of the people, 
and the terror of that tribunal which was no other than the 
inquisition without the name, produced a civil war, which 
desolated the country for many years. The murder of Wil- 
liam, Prince of Orange, by an emissary of Spain, in 1584, did 
not prevent the emancipation of the Batavian provinces from 
going forward ; but, in the southern states, the cause of Spain, 
and of that fierce and oloody Romanism which had emerged 
from the halls of her Inquisition, to desolate Christendom, pre- 
vailed in 1585, by the submission of the principal cities to 
Philip, and, among them, Brussels, where it was a part oi the 
conditions, that the Protestants should restore the churches 
which they had previously appropriated to their own use : it 
was to celebrate this event that the present festival was held. 

It is no violation of charity to remark, that in the Catholic 
countries the bulk of the people commonly evince an extreme 
degree of ignorance ; and it is easy to perceive how the apho- 
rism that 'ignorance is the mother of devotion,' though most 
fallacious in itself, may have been pronounced, by scepticism, 
over the follies of superstition. I asked a woman who was 
coming away from kneeling at a shrine in St. Gudule's, what 
shrine or tomb it was ? The poor woman seemed quite at a 
loss, and replied, Monsieur, je ne saurais vous dire ; demandez a 
Monsieur, pointing to a military-looking personage, who, in 
these Catholic cathedrals, marches about, furnished either 
with a halbert or a sword, and frequently with a cocked-hat 
on his head. — The summary way in which even the priests 
frequently perform their private devotions in the churches, 
borders hard upon the ludicrous. At one place, while looking 
at an image of the Virgin, we suddenly heard a peculiar rush 
behind us, which caused us to turn round : it was a very 
comely and well-conditioned priest, who, en passant, had fallen 
upon his knees, in the twinkling of an eye, und had as suddenly 
proceeded on his course across the cathedral. It is not un- 
common to see a priest taking a pinch of snuff on his knees, 
in the church. 

There are several other fine churches in Brussels. In Notre 



28 BRUSSELS. 

Dame de la Chapelle, the large organ, and the beautiful pul- 
pit, strike every beholder. The Corinthian portico of St. Jac- 
ques is a handsome ornament to the fine area of the Place 
Royale; and in the interior we noticed the elegance of the or- 
gan, and the beautiful form of the tabernacle fcr holding the 
host. In these, and the other churches the Catholic religion 
has laid its usual embargo on the fine arts ; and numerous 
paintings, statues, and monuments, unite to throw around its 
errors the charm of whatever is beautiful and imposing in the 
labors of the pencil and the chisel. During the revolutionary 
conflict between the Dutch and the Belgian troops, the Place 
Royale was one of the principal scenes of action, and some 
of the sumptuous buildings in the square were perforated 
through and through with cannon-balls. The Park, which is 
close by the Place Royale, is the most delightful part of this 
fine city, and is surrounded by splendid edifices; among 
which are the Royal Palace, and that of the Prince of Or- 
ange ; and on the opposite side, is the Palace of the States- 
General, or Parliament-house, occupying the centre of a mag- 
nificent street, which forms, on the north-eastern end of the 
Park, a noble facade. The garden of the Park combines in 
some measure the symmetry of the French with the ease and 
variety of the English style, and is ornamented with fountains, 
basins, and statues of admirable sculpture, while the deep 
umbrageous fdliage of some parts furnishes a grateful shelter 
from the heat of a July sun. An incident which occurred 
here, shows how easily princes may acquire popularity. Peter 
the Great, when at Brussels, in 1717, sat down to regale him- 
self with wine, on the margin of one of the basins : this cir- 
cumstance has been commemorated by an inscription, in which 
it is said, Petrus Alexiowitz, Czar Moscowice, aquam hujusfon- 
tis nohihtavit, libato vino! Had Peter not been a reformer, 
rather than a saint, surely this basin might have served all the 
churches in Brussels with holy water. 

Every one who visits this metropolis, goes to see the palace 
of the Prince of Orange, which is uninhabited, and remains 
exactly in the state in which it was at his last visit in 1830, 
when he came to Brussels in hope of quelling the insurrec- 
tion. It is remarkable for its splendor and costly ornament, 
and forms no mean item in the loss which the House of Nas- 
sau has suffered by the revolution. Visitors slide, rather than 
walk, in cloth slippers, over a suite of thirteen or fourteen su- 
perb apartments, the floors of which are of beautifully inlaid 
wood, and of the highest polish, being as smooth as glass. 
Several of the rooms are lined with marble, and rich sal in 
hangings ; and the whole suite is furnished in the most costly 
manner. Magnificent candelabras, ornaments of lapis-lazuli 
and marble, rich and splendid articles of upholstery, and some 



BRUSSELS. 29 

Valuable presents from Russia, all of which are in the most 
perfect state of preservation, attest the wealth, taste, and con- 
nections of the late owner of this princely residence ; who built 
it, we understood, a few years before the revolution, from his 
own private resources, for himself and his Russian princess. 
There are some good paintings, and among others, a very fine 
one of the Emperor Nicholas ; who is here represented as a 
very elegant young man, and extremely different from the im- 
pressions we should be apt to form in England of the despotic 
Czar, who has so tyrannically crushed the poor Poles, and en- 
deavored to exterminate from among them the very name of 
national freedom. Before the Belgian revolution, the royal 
family and the court were accustomed to reside alternately at- 
Brussels and at the Hague ; the States-general were also hold- 
en, by turns, at each place. 

The Palace of the States-General is a very handsome and 
commodious edifice, with an Ionic portico, and worthy to be 
the seat of a nation's government. Spacious staircases lead 
to the chambers : that of the peers is small, but richly fitted 
up ; and that of the deputies, in which the throne is placed, is 
much larger, and extremely elegant. One of the private 
rooms contains a painting of the battle of Waterloo, and the 
wounding of the Prince of Orange ; there is also a much finer 
picture of the battle of Nieuport, in which Prince Maurice, 
son of the murdered William of Orange, obtained a signal 
victory, in 1600, over Albert of Austria, who had married the 
Infanta of Spain, and received the promise of the sovereignty 
of the Netherlands from her father Philip II. A few years 
afterwards, Spain was compelled to acknowledge the inde- 
pendence of the Northern Provinces. 

The Museum, which is in the former palace of the governors 
of Belgium, under the Austrian dominion, was closed ; but 
some of us had seen it on a former visit : it contains a valua- 
ble collection of Flemish paintings, and some sculptures : 
there is also a library of one hundred thousand volumes, and 
a cabinet of natural history, in which may be seen some curi- 
ous relics of the ancient times of the Netherlands ; also a col- 
lection of philosophical and agricultural instruments, and vari- 
ous kinds of models. 

On the 20th ol November 1834, a University was instituted 
at Brussels, with the title of L'Universite Libre de Belgique, 
which is designed to furnish an education in all the branches 
that are preparatory to any of the professions. At present 
the lectures are delivered in some apartments of the Town- 
Hall ; but I was informed by one of the professors that they 
are in hopes of having a new edifice expressly for the object, 
somewhere in the neighborhood of the Park, and to harmonize 
with the style of building which prevails in that elegant am 1 
8* 



30 ROAD TO NAMUR. 

attractive part of the city. In this University there are five 
faculties, namely — philosophy and letters ; natural and mathe 
matical sciences ; law ; political and administrative sciences 
and medicine. The council is chosen by the subscribers, and 
composed of eleven members, in whom the government of the 
institution is vested. The professors are about twenty-five in 
number, besides agreges, or additional teachers : at seventy 
years of age, or after twenty years of service, they are to be- 
come emeriti, and to be entitled to a pension for the remainder 
of their lives. The students are admitted at sixteen years 
old, but exceptions may occur in favor of those who have not 
attained that age. A fee of registration, of the amount of fif- 
teen francs, is paid annually by each student ; and the sum of 
two hundred francs, or about eight pounds, annually paid, ad- 
mits to all the courses of any one faculty : — fifty additional 
francs, entitle the student to add one or more courses, in other 
faculties. Prizes are annually distributed for excellence. In 
the foundation of this free institution, may be traced the pro- 
gress of public opinion in Belgium, with regard to popery. 
The Catholic University, recently established, by the Belgic 
bishops, at Mechlin, is entirely exclusive : all the functiona- 
ries must be Roman Catholics, and must take an oath of obe- 
dience to the Episcopal body. 



LETTER III. 

Road through the forest of Soignies— Waterloo— Carnage at this and the 
preceding battles— Road to Namur — country near the city— Its situa- 
tion — Churches, including the Cathedral— Heights — Sunday Fair — 
F&te de la Sainte Vierge— Historical sketch, from the Roman Invasion 
— Battle between Csesar and the Nervii — Frankish Dominion — De- 
pendence on the Empire— Petty States — House of Burgundy — Spanish 
connection and dominion— Charles V. — Philip II.— William of Nassau- 
Cruel persecutions— Atrocities of Alva— Union of Utrecht -Assassina- 
tion of William— Ancient opulence of the Cities of Brabant and Flan- 
ders— Archduke Albert — Louis XIV. and the Triple Allian.-e— War of 
the Spanish succession — Peace of Utrecht— Austrian dominion— Incor- 
poration with France — United Kingdom of the Netherlands— Leopold 
of Saxe Coburg, first King of the Belgians. ^ 

My dear Friend: The Namur road led us to Waterloo 
through part of the ancient Arduenna, mentioned by Caesar, 
— now the forest of Soignies. The village church is an af- 
fecting spectacle, its walls being lined with marble slabs, to 
the memory of the officers who tell on the melancholy field 
of Britain's glory. At Mont St. Jean, a smr.ll hamlet, upwards 



WATERLOO. 31 

of a mile farther on, the road gradually rises ; and at the dis- 
tance of another half-mile, you come to the farmhouse, which 
was the key to the British position, being the centre round 
which the allied army was arranged nearly in the form of a 
quadrant, across the two diverging roads leading from Mont 
St. Jean, to Nivellos and Genappe. You now lose sight of the 
forest, and an ascent conducts to the ridge along which the 
British army was placed. The r >ad to Genappe crosses the 
position of its centre, where stood the tree, now cut down, near 
which the Duke of Wellington and his staff were posted, be- 
tween two s .nd-banks, during the greater part of the action. 
Near the same spot are two monuments, one to Colonel Gor- 
don, and the other to the officers of the German legion, who 
here fell. 

In the distance, on the left, is pointed out the wood from 
which, at the close of the day, the Prussians emerged to ex- 
tinguish the last ray of hope for the French army, and to in- 
spire the British for the final effort of the dreadful struggle. 
On the right, marking the spot where the Piince of Orange 
was wounded, is a mound from the summit of which those of 
us who were here before, obtained a commanding view of the 
field. This huge pyramid, if left as a mere earthen tumulus, 
without being crowned by the Belgic lion, would have re- 
mained, in all future time, a most impressive monument to:i? 
thousands of the slain ; for it is no less than two hundredf * 
high, which is the elevation of the barrow of Alyattes, in Asia 
Minor, probably the largest in the world. 

The road led close by La Haye Sainte, near which farm- 
house the terrible conflict took place, between the British 
troops and the imperial guard of Napoleon ; and at a distance, 
on the right, in the middle of the valley, was the chateau of 
Hougomont, the scene of a most murderous and continued 
conflict, and a spot where a number of the wounded of both 
armies perished in flames. This chateau lay between the 
original positions of the two armies ; and behind it was placed 
the second division of the French, under Jerome Bonaparte, 
who began the battle by an attack on the British troops, which 
was accompanied with a dreadful fire of artillery. We now 
passed the little inn of La Belle Alliance, near the place 
where the road crossed the centre of the position of the French 
army; and where Napoleon remained during the greater part 
of the battle, till he made his last charge at the head of his 
imperial guards. 

This battle was unquestionably one of the most memorable 
that ever occurred in the history of the world ; whether we 
consider th<^ elements that mingled in it, or the magnitude of 
its results. It presented the spectacle of the flower of Euro- 
pean armies, combined to give a mortal blow to the insuflfera- 



3:2 WATEfttca 

tie ambition of the mighty Goliath of war who for so many 
years had been the terror of all Europe ; and had kept the 
continent in awe by the thunder of his arms. It was the last 
storm raised by that great disturber of the world ; and it was 
signally marked by the fury with which it raged ; for nothing 
could exceed the terrific violence of the French charges, the 
indomitable steadiness and energy with which they were re- 
pelled by the British, or the destructive reprisals taken by the 
Prussians, for their defeat at Ligny, on the retreating French. 
And the consequences of this sanguinary conflict were nothing 
less than the final downfall of Napoleon, the pacification of 
the continent, and the elevation of Britain to the highest pitch 
of influence among the powers of Europe. The guide who 
conducted some of us on a former visit to this field of blood, 
then crowned with ihe fruits of harvest, said that he made 
one of about four thousand persons who were employed, for 
a whole week, in burying the slain ! 

It is computed that, in this battle, which took place on the 
18th of June, 1815, and that of Ligny on the 16th, the carnage 
amounted to no less than about seventy thousand men, — an 
awful example of the ravages of war, and awakening the ap- 
palling reflection that these myriads of human souls were 
hurried into eternity, and the presence of their Judge, reeking 
with each other's blood, and often breathing the most malig- 
nant passions ; — for the French and Prussians gave each other 
no quarter ! 

The sudden cry of battle at night ; — the excitement it occa- 
sioned in Brussels during a splendid ball, and the hastening of 
the military * from the gay circle to the field of slaughter, have 
been impressively compared to the " knell of death " producing 
consternation in the midst of a "marriage festival : " 

And there was mounting in hot haste : the steed, 
The mustering squadron, and the clattering car. 
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, 
And swiftly forming in the rank3 of war ; 
And the deep thunder, peal on peal afar ; 
And near, the beat of the alarming drum 
Roused up the soldier ere the morning star ! 

And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves, 
Dewy with nature's tear-drops, as they pass, 
Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves, 
Over the unreturning brave, — alas ! 
Ere evening to be trodden like the grass 
Which now beneath them, but above shall grow 

* Though the recent advantages and the approach of Bonaparte must 
have been too well known to admit of surprise in the army, it is easy to 
suppose that the nearness of the seat of war would produce a great sen- 
sation at Brussels. 



NAMUE. 33 

In its next verdure, when this fiery mass 

Of living valor, rolling on the foe, 

And burning with high hope, diall moulder cold and low ! 

A road, upwards of forty miles in length, and passing 
through Genappe and Quatre-Bras, continued across a well- 
cultivated but unenclosed country, to Namur. On arriving at 
Sombreffe we learned that a kind of patois here begins to be 
spoken. The blue frocks of the peasants in this neighborhood 
appear to be a sort of characteristic costume. The country 
became more and more open, — hills with fine valleys succeed- 
ing each other, beautifully interspersed with villages ; and 
as we approached Namur, the fields along the slopes, on 
the right, presented the appearance of pieces of patchwork, 
and were delightfully studded with cottages. 

Namur is romantically situated, between two lofty hills, at 
the junction of the Meuse and the Sambre : and the fortifica- 
tions, situated on the heights, appear very strong and give the 
town a warlike air. It seems to be a place of deep supersti- 
tion : — some of the churches are very showy and tawdry ; and 
in one was the profane inscription, applied to the Virgin, Pec- 
catorum Refugium: nor was there in these temples any lack of 
holy relics, or of people confessing to the priests. The cathe- 
dral is an elegant structure in the Grecian style, with a hand- 
some dome and portico. There are some fine paintings in the 
interior, and a beautiful pavement of black and grey marble ; 
and the two pulpits, of light bluish marble, with the imitation 
of hangings above them, have an elegant effect. There was a 
money-box here for the benefit of this cathedral, and, — as the 
inscription on it stated, — for the reception of the offerings of 
those who eat meat in Lent. The church of the Jesuits, the in- 
terior of which, we understood, is a still finer specimen of ar- 
chitecture, was closed. 

This town, compared with those we had visited, is in general 
of mean appearance, though in the central part there are a 
number of very good shops: the people were of a different 
character from those we had seen, and much less polished ; 
and a good deal of begging seemed to be going on. The mar- 
ble quarries, and mines of iron and copper in the neighbor- 
hood, employ many of the population. The number of briglu 
brass kettles which arc carried about by the women for house- 
hold purposes, and the vessels of the same metal, which abound 
in the cottages of the poor, form a striking feature of this city 
and its vicinity. On a survey of the exterior of the town, it 
appeared highly fortified, surrounded by a moat where it is 
not flank* d by the river ; and the ramparts, on one side, are of 
such an immense height as to give it. a very curious and im- 
posing aspect. Some parts of the ramparts form an agreeable 
promenade ; and in one spot is a small showy chapel of the 



34 STAMTTKr 

Virgin, containing a multitude of offerings like those we had 
noticed at other places, such as waxen legs, arms, and images 
of children ; also crutches, bandages, and little pictures. A 
number of female devotees were kneeling, both within and 
without this small building. 

On the sabbath, we could make no public improvement of 
the day, as there was no Protestant worship in the town. 
Whether it were our fancy or not, we certainly thought that 
after we had let the servant who had waited on us know we 
were Protestants, she behaved in a manner which indicated 
considerable antipathy towards us.— Almost every shop in the 
town was open throughout the day, and a sort of fair was held ; 
the houses were decorated with flowers, and placards an- 
nounced a comedy to be performed at the theatre. On the 
approach of the evening, we found that the festival of the Vir- 
gin was to be celebrated. An altar was dressed up in the 
street close to our inn, by the inmates of a boarding-school, 
and lighted candles were placed on it, with beautiful flowers 
and shrubs. The procession, of which we had a complete 
view from our windows, soon came up : first were women, 
strewing evergreens ; a priest, bearing a high cross, followed, 
and little boys on each side carrying long lighted tapers: then 
came about twenty or thirty priests, chanting ; and, beneath a 
canopy, a figure of the Virgin, dressed in a costly manner, was 
borne on the shoulders of ten or twelve men : next were about 
thirty little girls in white, with wreaths of flowers round their 
heads, from which hung white veils reaching to the ground be- 
hind them : these children walked two and two, bearing be- 
tween them baskets filled with flowers, which they threw 
around the altar, where the procession rested. A band of 
music, and incense thrown high in the air from censers, pre- 
pared the way for the host, which was carried by a digni- 
tary under a canopy of crimson velvet, trimmed with gold 
fringe and plumes of white feathers : then followed a number 
of men, bearing lighted tapers more than a yard in length ; 
and a multitude of people closed the procession. When the 
priest walked from under the canopy to elevate the host at the 
altar, all the crowd fell on their knees. After a number of 
prayers and ceremonies, the affair ended. Such was the sab- 
bath in this city of christianised heathenism ! 

Namur has often been the scene of bloody conflicts ; and its 
neighborhood is remarkable, as having been the theatre of one 
of the most violent struggles between the Romans and the Bel- 
gic Gauls. Every school-boy, who has had Csesar in his hand, 
remembers the words in the opening of the Commentaries on 
the Gallic War, in which, speaking of the different nations of 
Gaul, the Roman conqueror describes the people whose coun- 
try was to a considerable extent identical with the new king- 



BELGIC HISTORY. 35 

dom of Leopold, by saying, horum omnium fort is simi stint Beiges* 
The words les braves Beiges were uttered, we observed, on va- 
rious occasions, by travellers, and sometimes when military 
were in view; — though generally hy way of joke. 

Rome, by her invincible arms, brought into notice nations 
previously unknown to fame ; and the Bel gas, like many other 
tribes whose history begins with their subjugation, paid dearly 
for their place in the Roman annals. They did not, indeed, 
tamely yield to the eagles of Csesar ; but formed against him 
a general confederacy : and the battle on which the fate of 
their country ultimately depended, which was fought on the 
banks of the Sambre, not far from Namur, was obstinate and 
bloody. Csesar describes it minutely in his second book of the 
Gallic war; and his language indicates that the bravery with 
which this oppressed people resisted their ambitious invader, 
excited his admiration.* Nothing, however, could save them 
from his iron grasp ; for in this engagement, the Nervii, the 
most warlike of all the Belgic tribes, were almost totally anni- 
hilated, and the waters of the Sambre were stained with the 
blood of nearly sixty thousand warriors, who fell victims to the 
Roman sword. 

The numerous northern hordes that swept like a flood over 
the Roman empire, diffused themselves to the Gallic provinces ; 
and towards the end of the fifth century, Clovis, king of the 
Franks, succeeded in destroying the last remnants of the Ro- 
man domination in Gaul. By the end of the seventh century, 
the Frankish monarchy had extended itself, with the Christian 
religion, over the Netherlands, and they subsequently formed 
a part of the overshadowing empire of Charlemagne; on the 
division of which among his successors, these provinces became 
chiefly dependent on Germany. In the course of time, the 
more powerful vassals rendered themselves almost indepen- 
dent of the imperial crown ; and in ihe tenth, eleventh, twelfth, 
and thirteenth centuries, the Low Countries were broken up 
into a number of petty states, the governors of which were con- 
nected partly with the Empire, and partly with Franee. An 
incessant struggle was kept up between the encroachments of 
feudal tyranny, and the growing spirit of civic freedom : and, 
in the conflicts that ensued, the warrior-bishops frequently 
bore no inconsiderable share, rendering the temi militant, as 
applied to the church, somewhat more than a merely figurative 
epithet. 

In the fifteenth century, the powerful house of Burgundy 
was in possession of the greater part of these provinces ; and 
they formed a dukedom, the wealth and resources of which 
surpassed that of the monarchies of Europe, and provoked 

* Cm>. Da F»A\o Gallico, ii. 27. 



SKETCH OF 



their envy. The marriage of Mary, daughter of Charles the 
Bold, the last Duke of Burgundy, to Maximilian, afterwards 
Emperor of Germany, brought the Netherlands under the do- 
minion of Austria. Philip the Fair, son of Maximilian and 
Mary, obtained with the Infanta the reversion of the monarchy 
of Spain ; and Charles V., the next heir, united, in his own per- 
son, the inheritance of the imperial sceptre of Germany and 
the Spanish crown ; so that the Netherlands became but an 
appendage to these immense dominions ; though, at the acces- 
sion of Charles, in 1516, they had acquired the highest rank 
among commercial nations, and formed the richest portion of 
an empire which had known no parallel since the time of 
Charlemagne. 

The Spanish connection was to the Netherlands the begin- 
ning of woes before unknown : their ample resources were 
drained to supply the coffers of the monarch ; and the doc- 
trines of the Reformation, which had found a cradle among a 
people whose triumphant commerce had imported a spirit of 
inquiry, were crushed to please the ecclesiastics. Charles, 
with a policy not uncommon among princes, tolerated, in one 
part of his dominions, a religion which, in another, he punished 
as a crime. In Germany, the adherents of Luther were too 
formidable to be put down ; but, in the Netherlands, they were 
persecuted with the utmost rigor. The dungeon, — the axe, — 
the flames, — the burial of the living, — were all put in requisi- 
tion to extinguish heresy in its birth ! No age was exempt, — 
no rank was screened, — no sex was spared, — no privacy was 
sacred ; and this fine country was covered with lamentation 
and mourning for her children, of whom from fifty to a hun- 
dred thousand are computed to have died martyrs to religion, 
during a reign of forty years ! 

Ambition was the ruling passion of Charles, and this led him 
frequently to act the despot ; — but his son, Philip II. of Spain, 
was pre-eminently a bigot : he was worthy to be the husband 
of Mary of England ; and his ascension on the Spanish throne 
was, to his Netherland dominions, as the rising of a malignant 
star. Born and nurtured in Spain, and possessing a temper 
harsh and gloomy, he was eminently fitted to be the tool of 
priests arid monks ; and he completed the work of persecution 
which his father had begun. To this end, fourteen new b^h- 
oprics were created, as additional centres of ecclesiastical 
power ; and the inquisitorial court was made to exert all its 
fearful and appalling energies to arrest heresy, in a manner 
worthy of Spain itself; for the relentless king sent orders that 
the victims should here be secretly destroyed ; and the Prin- 
cess Governant, the Duchess of Parma, was commanded to aid 
the movements of the ecclesiastical tribunal wiih all the force 
of the civil power. Executions took place in all the principal 



BELGIC HISTORY. 37 

towns of the southern Netherlands ; the rigor of the inquisition 
produced public tumults, and partial insurrections ; one hun- 
dred thousand families fled their country, through terror of its 
infernal machinations; and the influence of William of Nas- 
sau, who afterwards founded the Dutch Republic, in resistance 
to the Spanish power, alone prevented these violent measures 
of Philip from being pursued in the north. 

In 151)3, a confederation was organised against this fierce 
and bigoted tyrant ; the inquisition was loudly denounced, in 
a public manifesto, which called for a united effort to oppose 
it; and a spirit of discontent and revolt became general in 
Flanders. The Protestants assembled in thousands and tens 
of thousands, to hear the sneakers, as they were termed ; and, 
among so mixed a multitude, many were actuated by the most 
ungovernable passions, and were provoked to retaliate on the 
cruel despotism of Popery, by acts of outrage and violence. 
William of Nassau, though firmly attached to the doctrines of 
the Reformation, was aware that this reaction would but in- 
furiate the court ; and Antwerp was, for a while, preserved 
from these ebullitions by his presence: on his departure, how- 
ever, the popular fury was no longer restrained. This city 
was the point of union for the three grand denominations — - 
the Calvinists, Lutherans, and Anabaptists : of these an im- 
mense multitude broke into the cathedral then the richest in 
Christendom next to St. Peter's at Rome, pillaging and des- 
troying everything, including the organ, which was the finest 
in existence. Every other church in Antwerp, and over the 
whole country, four hundred churches in all, shared the same 
fate. 

Alarmed for the consequences of his tyrannic severity, but 
still determined to maintain it, Philip resorted to the sword ; 
and in 1537, the Duke of Alva, with a veteran army of from 
ten to fifteen thousand men, and with almost sovereign power, 
arrived, from Spain, under the walls ot Brussels. The cruel- 
ties of this monster would fill a volume; and his name is, to 
this day, held in detestation in the Netherlands, for the atroci- 
ties of which he and his council, called by the people the 
Bloody Tribunal, were guilty. This was the re-establish ment 
of the inquisition in its most terrific form. Little distinction 
wis made between the innocent and the guilty : many wealthy 
merchants were dragged ton or twelve miles to trial, tied to 
a horse's tail; at. Valenciennes, fifty-five citizens were execut- 
( d in one day. Burning, hanging, beheading, and quartering, 
rere common occurrences; some were drowned, for having 
been one: pros?! it at Protestant worship ; others put to the 
rack, to induce them to discover their associates; various 
modes of torture were resorted to, such as screwing the cul- 
prits into a machine, so as to produce the most exquisite ago- 

VOL. vi. 4 



88 SKETCH OF 

ny ; scorching them with hot irons; or tearing them asunder 
by means of horses; husbands and wives, parents and child- 
ren, brothers and sisters, were put to death for daring to af- 
ford each other a temporary shelter from the fury of the 
Spaniards; and the wretched people, driven to frenzy and 
despair, rled to perish in the woods and marshes. The whole 
extent of the Netherlands was one wide scene of carnage and 
ruin ; and the savage Alva, after succeeding in extirpating, 
subduing, or driving into exile, the greater part of the Protes- 
tants, boasted that, during the six years of his power, he had 
caused the death of eighteen thousand heretics by the hand 
of the executioner ; about iifty per day ! As many more in- 
dividuals perished by the sword : and upwards of a hundred 
and twenty thousand of the most ingenious and industrious of 
th« population, abandoned their native soil. 

For these services Alva received a consecrated hat and 
sword from Rome! Bis lust of blood was only equalled by 
his appetite for gold ; and this afflicted and miserable coun- 
try was now regarded as so prostrate, that it would tamely 
endure the most grinding and rapacious taxation, as the final 
climax of injury and oppression. But if the cruel butchery 
that had followed the steps of this grim and marble-hearted 
tyrant, exasperated the remaining relatives of those that had 
been put to death, an exorbitant and ruinous taxation, from 
which none were exempt, was felt by all ; and the final issue, 
after long and bloody wars, w 7 as the emancipation of the seven 
northern provinces from the Spanish yoke, which they virtu- 
ally threw off by the union of Utrecht, in 1579, under the 
guidance of the noble William, whom Alva had in vain sought 
to bring within his power; or he would, no doubt, have glut- 
ted his eyes with his execution, as he had already done with 
that of William's friend, Count Egmont, in the great square 
at Brussels. Spain, however, kept a malignant eye upon her 
most formidable foe ; and after several failures, Baithasar 
Gerard, her last emissary, assassinated the Prince at Delft. 
Notwithstanding this calamity, the Dutch Republic struggled 
into existence ; while the Belgic provinces, the wreck of what 
they had once been, were still destined to remain under the 
disastrous auspices of Spain. 

The opulence of the cities of Brabant and Flanders, in the 
days of their glory, was without previous example in modern 
times; and nothing could exceed the magnificence of the 
dresses adorned with gold and diamonds, the splendor of the 
entertainments, and the pompous displays of wealth, that were 
common among the princely merchants of these trading towns. 
Mechlin,— though never like Bruges, or Antwerp, the queen 
of commerce, on one occasion sent a deputation to the latter 
city, consisting of three hundred and twenty-six horsemen, 



BELGIC HISTORY. 39 

richly attired in satin, with a profusion of gold and silver or- 
naments ; and Brussels deputed throe hundred and forty, as 
splendidly clad, attended by seven huge triumphant chariots, 
and seventy-eight others of a smaller size ; and this at a time 
when carriages were far from common. But now the inquisi- 
tion, and the sword, had reduced this fine country to a wilder- 
ness ; and in their train followed the ruin of commerce, with 
famine, disease, — and even the ravages of beasts of prey, which 
seemed almost to have mistaken what were once the finest 
parts of the country, for the savage desert ; for it is said that 
more than a hundred persons fell a prey to wolves and hun- 
gry dogs, almost under the very walls of Ghent. 

After the death of Philip II., the Low Countries fell to his 
son-in-law, the Archduke Albert of Austria, in virtue of his 
marriage with the Infanta; but on his dying without issue in 
1621, they reverted to Spain. In 1648, the United Provinces 
obtained a ratification of their independence, by the treaty of 
Westphalia : and twenty years afterwards, Louis XIV., taking 
advantage of the weakness of Spain, compelled her, by his 
successes in Belgium, to make vast sacrifices of territory 
in the treaty of Aix la Chapelle ; and had not England, Hol- 
land, and Sweden, combined in the Triple Alliance to throw 
up a barrier against the French monarch, the whole of the 
Spanish Netherlands would, in 1668, have been overwhelmed 
by his power. On the death of Charles II. of Spain, the war 
broke out which related to the Spanish succession, in which 
were involved the claims of the grandson of Louis XIV. and 
of the Archduke Charles. The peace of Utrecht, in which this 
war terminated, in 1713, consigned these provinces to Austria ; 
to secure whose dominion over them, and to prevent their fall- 
ing under the power of France, had been the object of the 
armed confederacies of the reigns of William III. and Anne, 
of England. They were subsequently overrun, and conquered, 
by the arms of Louis XV.; but were restored to Austria by the 
Congress of 1748. In 1792, the French Revolution deprived 
Austria of the sovereignty, and these provinces were decreed 
an integral part of the French Republic, under the name of 
Belgium. In 1793, this afflicted country, which has so often 
changed masters, was again almost entirely in possession of 
the Austrians ; but in the following y ear, it was regained by 
the French, and was once more incorporated with France ; 
under the power of which it remained till the triumph of the 
allies over Napoleon, placed in their hand stinies of 

Europe ; and in 1814, the Congress of Vienna erected Belgium 
and Holland into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, 
under the government of William, Prince of Orange. This 
connection lasted till 1830, when the revolution placed Leopold 
of Saxe Coburg on the throne of Belgium. 



40 VALLEY OF THE MEUSE, 



LET TER IV. 

View of Namur — Valley of the Meuse — Huy — Aspect of the country 
— Liege — Church of St. James, and St. Odilia's veritable eye, and 
eau benite — Cathedral — University — Palace of the Prince-Bishops 
— View of Liege from Belle Vue — Long-continued clearness of the 
atmosphere — Pavilion- Anglais — View from one of the bridges — 
Dialect — Liege prompt to join in the Revolution of 1830— Causes 
of the Revolution — Dislike of the Dutch connexion — Preference- to 
France — Effect of the previous French Revolution of 1830 — Taxes 
of the mouture, and abattage — Political prosecutions — Van Maanen 
— Acts of violence August 25 — Efforts of the Prince of Orange in- 
effectual—Provisional government — Dutch troops driven from 
Brussels — Belgic Congress — Leopold elected king— Manifestation 
of feeling towards Romish ceremonies — Brief sketch of the history 
of the Protestant religion in Belgium — Exterminating persecutions 
— Revival under the Dutch sway — Check it received in 1832 — Re- 
cent efforts — Romish clergy opposed to religious freedom. 

My dear Friend : We left Namur for Liege, distant 
about forty miles, at six in the morning, with an atmos- 
phere clear and cloudless, as it had been ever since our 
landing in Belgium. For the first time, we now travelled 
on a macadamized road, a most agreeable relief after the 
pave, which, perhaps, the lightness of the soil generally 
renders necessary. The jingling of bells on the horses 7 
collars was now substituted for the noise of the wheels on 
the paved roads. 

The city, with its nine or ten spires and towers, and 
overhanging heights, had a striking effect, as we began, 
after crossing the Meuse, to move along the truly charm- 
ing and picturesque valley, through scenery of a totally 
different character from any we had hitherto witnessed ; 
and constituting no mean earnest of the beauties of t] e 
Rhine. We had not gone far, before the rocks and cliifs 
reminded us of Undercliffe, in the Isle of Wight ; and the 
lofty crags, which sometimes impended over us, luxuri- 
antly ornamented with trees, or surmounted by a chateau, 
or a ruin, formed a scene of romantic beauty. Indeed, the 
road from Namur to Huy is altogether of the most diversi- 
fied and striking character, and is justly regarded as apart 
of the enchanted ground of Belgium; but this tract, and 
the whole of the valley from Namur to Maestricht, which 
forms one continued series of studies for the painter, 
ought, we were told, to be seen from the river itself though 
the road all the way to Liege runs along its banks. We 
r© -crossed the Meuse about the middle of the day. having 



LIEGE. 41 

had it on our left till we passed the bridge of the ancient 
town of Huy, which, with its cathedral-looking church, 
lies romantically under the surrounding hills, and is crown 
ed by its strong and most commanding fortress, which is 
seated, proudly dominant, on the rocks above the river. 
After leaving Huy, the valley opened, and the scenery be- 
came less bold ; but the vineyards, reaching to the very 
summit of the crags, and the beautiful patchwork .fields, 
gave the impression of a country in a high state of culti- 
vation; while the numerous chateaux and villages, in- 
creasing in number as you approach Liege, the works of 
industry in coal and iron, and the large English cotton 
factories, combine to indicate an immense population in 
these parts. 

Upwards of two hundred years ago, Bishop Hall spoke 
of 'a delightful passage up the sweet river Mosa,' and of 
visiting ' the populous and rich clergy of Leodium :'* the 
features of nature remain the same, and the Meuse still 
meanders between its lovely borders ; the works of man, 
however, are not only mutilated and destroyed by the 
hand of time, but still more by the violence of human pas- 
sions : within the last two centuries, Liege has frequently 
been the immediate arena of war ; and its churches, espe- 
cially, have suffered much, from the reaction of revolu- 
tionary fury on the enslaving ecclesiastical despotism of 
Rome. Yet this city, upon the whole, appeared to us a 
very striking and exceedingly agreeable place; and it 
still possesses a considerable trade, being celebrated for 
its manufactures of iron, cloths, hats, and some kinds of 
cutlery. It is of great extent, and is romantically situated 
—part of it being built on a high hill ; and the bulk of the 
town beneath, in the valley of the Meuse, which intersects 
it in various directions. Several of the streets and squares 
are very airy and pleasing ; and of the public walks, the 
most frequented seemed to be the magnificent one that 
lines the long terrace which is open to the river, the other 
side of which is very agreeably adorned with gardens. 
This town has nothing of'the close, confined appearance 
of Naraur, which seems as though it existed almost only 
for the sake of its ramparts and fortifications. 

On the day of our arrival at Liege, we were witnesses 
to one of those pieces of superstition, the frequency of 
which, in these Catholic countries, every Christian philan- 
thropist must deplore. The whole of that dis I the 
city which is near the church of St. James appeared in 
motion; and great numbers were flocking toward this 

* Jones's Life of Bishop Hull. 
4* 



42 



point from all quarters : infants were drawn in their cotg, 
and sometimes three generations were seen in companies. 
The church was full of people : about fifty persons at a 
time knelt without the rails of an altar; and within stood 
a priest, who slightly and rapidly touched the eyes of each 
individual, with a sort of box, or. ring, which was fastened 
on his fmger, and which he wiped, every time, with -a 
cloth. The ring was held to every person to kiss, ar.d 
this precious relic was said to be no other than the ' true' 
and 'veritable' eye of St. Odilia, enclosed under glass, in a 
gold case, and pronounced to be an infallible cure for sore 
eyes ! Once a year, on this day— the festival of the saint 
—all come to this ceremony who have bad eyes, or who 
are anxious to avoid having them. The guide who led us 
to the church said that he had formerly received the ap- 
plication ;— though quite a youth, the poor fellow, seemed 
perfectly priest-ridden : and when he told us some strange 
stories about miracles and relics, we found it impossible 
to shake his belief, and were obliged to leave him fully 
pursuaded of the supernatural virtues of St. Gdilia's £ veri- 
table eye !' 

Here, as usual, the poor deluded devotee was obliged 
immediately to pay for a supposed benefit: an acolyte 
carrying the never-forgotten money-box, followed the 
priest, and every person contributed a coin. It would re- 
quire more than an ordinary degree of charity— not to 
have the impression that this was a shocking spectacle of 
extortion and imposture. At the west end of the church 
taey were bringing buckets of water from the ^round-floor 
of the tower, and selling it in tumblers, and bottles. A 
woman, on being asked what this meant, replied that it 
was some of the eau Unite de Sainte Odile, bonne pour les 
yeux, et bonne pour la purification de Pestomac .-—they were 
giving it to several very young children; whose, minds 
are thus enslaved by superstition, at the moment when 
reason dawns ! It was humiliating to behold the degrada- 
tion of the human intellect, in this ridiculous affair ; and it 
was yet more painful to reflect on the deeper moral mis- 
chief it involved We thought the priest'did not appear 
quite comfortable, as we stood gazing, with a variety of 
emotions on this piece of folly. Surely this rubbir a is 
more likely to communicate diseases of the eye than to • it- 
them. It was a relief to turn away from this impious f rce 
to notice the stained windows, and the coloured ceilir » of 
the church. ~ ° 

The cathedral of Liege is richly ornamented, and has a 
very fine old window and a screen of the red marble of 
the country, and of white Italian marble; also, some fine 



LIEGE. 43 

paintings, by Caravaggio, Rubens, Bertholet, and others. 
The skull and bones of St. Lambert are among the sacred 
treasures of this church, and it is also pretended that there 
is here a veil, once belonging to the Virgin Mary ; but we 
did not see any of these precious relics. On one of the 
altars is a beautiful small statue of the Virgin, with the 
child Jesus, executed in white marble. In the Chapelle 
du Monument, also, there is a striking sculpture, in mar- 
ble, of our Saviour in the tomb; the two angels are beau- 
tifully carved in wood. The University is a neat building, 
on a site that has been redeemed to nobler purposes from 
the Jesuits, who once had a foundation on this spot: the 
professors are nearly twenty in number ; the students up- 
wards of four hundred ; and the collection of natural 
history, of which we had but a hasty survey, appeared to 
be a fine one. The new street of the University, though 
short is handsome and spacious ; and this part of the town 
contains some fine shops. 

The Palais de Justice is a magnificent edifice, with 
piazzas surrounding the quadrangle, the Moorish columns 
of which, have an interesting, though heavy effect, from 
their massive thickness. This was formerly the residence 
of the prince-bishops of Liege, once most influential per- 
sonages, at a time when the overgrown ecclesiastic, equal- 
ly ready to wear the mitre or the helmet, often made his 
importance to be felt by monarchs : but the day is fast 
waning when, in virtue of their office, the professed suc- 
cessors of the apostles will be permitted to maintain 
almost regal establishments. The prince-bishop of Liege 
has long since exchanged his principality for the station 
of arch-bishop of Mechlin, metropolitan of all Belgium. 
From a vineyard terrace, called La Belle Vue, in the 
best pait of the town, is a splendid view of the city, 
h its fifteen or twenty steeples — as well as of the coun- 
try, to a great extent. At suns* f , a few light clouds 
appeared in the horizon, for the iirst time since we left 
England, after a succession of many days of azure 
weather, with an intense sun. The next morning, the at- 
mosphere was still cloudy, and more resembled an English 
sky. We set off from our hotel, the Pavilion Anglais — a 
very com fortable house, far more like an English inn than 
any one we had before visited — and proceeded still farther 
to explore the town. The fruit and flower market was 
se at hand, held under the shade of trees, in the centre 
of a large parallelogram, ornamented with three foun- 
tains: there was a plenteous supply of flowers and fruit, 
which were sold by women, whose immense round hats 
had an odd effect. The vegetable market is in the quad- 



44 CAUSES OF THE 

rangle of the Palais de Justice. We remarked that, in- 
stead of the chairs we had seen elsewhere, the churches 
here contained long seats, or benches, for the accommo- 
dation of the people; and they appeared to have fewer 
paintings than usual, but a great deal of sculpture. In the 
course of our perambulations, we pronounced Liege to be 
one of the most picturesque and open places we had seen; 
and we much admired the beautiful view from the first of 
the bridges, on the road leading to the Prussian frontier. 
The dialect of the common people here is the Vallon, or 
Koeter-Walsch; but at the inns, and in the shops, French 
is spoken. 

Liege was prompt to j oin the party of the Belgic revolution 
in 1830, immediately responding to the call of the metro- 
polis ; and the unanimity which prevailed in this city, 
prevented the confusion from occurring here, which, for 
some time reigned in the capital. In tracing the causes of 
the recent event, it is worthy of remark, that one of the 
most signal changes in the politics of Europe which fol- 
lowed the great French revolution, was the annexation of 
the Austrian Netherlands to France ; and there were ele- 
ments in that union, which gave far greater promise of 
durability, than was to be found in many of the other 
territorial aggrandizements, either of the French Republic, 
or of the military sovereignty^ of Bonaparte. Other coun- 
tries were separated from FrSnce by the great boundaries 
of nature: but between her and these fine provinces, no 
Alpine range reared a barrier — no sea interposed — no ^reat 
river rolled its tide, as a line of visible demarcation': the 
traveller, on the contrary, might pass the frontier of the 
two countries, scarcely aware of the change ; for he found 
the French language still reigning, as the medium of inter- 
course, and of business— the Catholic religion still pre- 
senting, everywhere, the symbols of its worship— and a 
people in general more resembling the French, than the 
Dutch, in their manners, feelings, and habits. In thus 
possessing Belgium, however, France gained the object, 
which it had been, for ages, the grand fundamental prin- 
ciple of the chief European powers to prevent her from 
obtaining ; and which had long been preserved from her 
grasp, by their upholding the dominion of Austria, as cal- 
culated to keep her ambition within bounds. The revolu- 
tion of 1789, breaking, like a mountain-torrent, upon the 
artificial barriers which legitimacy had raised against the 
encroachments of the Great Nation, swept many of 
these obstacles away ; and Belgium, more naturally than 
any other country, fell under the power of France — 



BELGIC REVOLUTION OF 1830. 45 

and so continued, with a short interval, till the fall of 
Bonaparte. 

The Congress of Vienna became, for the time being, the 
arbiters of Europe ; and Belgium was annexed to Hol- 
land — to frame with it a new kingdom, though few unions 
could have been formed containing more of the principle 
of repulsion; for the Dutch would rather have returned to 
their republic, and the Belgians preferred France to Hol- 
land. The news of Bonaparte's return from Elba, pro- 
duced a profound sensation in Belgium ; — and all who 
had acquired wealth, or possessed employments, under 
his sway ; — or who had fought beneath his eagles, were 
ready to receive him again with open arms : and the tra- 
veller who visits the field of Mont St. Jean, is told, that 
while the destinies of Europe were in suspense, during 
that sanguinary conflict, the arms of the House of Orange 
were actually effaced from the colours that were flying at 
the village of Waterloo; and while the artillery of the 
English allies was thundering upon the hosts of Bona- 
parte, the people of Brussels, expecting the victory would 
be his — and expecting but what they desired, were making 
preparations for giving a cordial welcome to the imperial 
army. The Belgians protested, in 1815, against their se- 
paration from France, and their incorporation with a 
country which — they urged — had few interests, in common 
with their own; and which loaded Belgium with burdens 
that did not belong to her. Whatever sympathy might 
have existed between the northern and southern provinces, 
when the illustrious founder of the Orange dynasty fought 
the common battle, against the tyranny of Spain — those 
days were gone by ; and the fate of the two countries had 
been totally different; — the one maintaining the character 
of an independent state ; — the other always continuing 
under the dominion of some superior power, and still 
destined to be the theatre on which the battles of Europe 
were to be fought; — the one country decidedly Protestant 
— the other remaining deeply rooted in the most bigoted 
Romanism. 

Nations may be compared to the human body, which 
imbibes disease according as it is predisposed to receive 
contagion. The French revolution of July 1830, could not 
fail to produce its effect, on a people who had never 
cherished towards their government any feelings but those 
of distrust and jealousy : for these elements of mischief 
had always been working in the very constitution of the 
United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The three days of 
Paris, did but increasingly prepare the materials of dis- 
cord for a ready explosion, by means of any casualty that 



46 



CAUSES OF THE 



might occur; as combustible substances, previously dried 
by the heat of the sun, are more easily ignited by a spark. 
1 nus a crisis, already impending, was hastened on ; and 
the barricades of the Rue St.. Honors, and of the Boule- 
vards, became, after the lapse of a few weeks, the mo- 
dels of those of the Rue de Flandre, and the Porte de 
Schaerbeck. 

Ancient and rooted prejudices existed between the 
Dutch and the Belgians ; among which, the difference of 
religion was no insignificant element. The Belgians also 
jealous of the superior wealth and moral energy of their 
Protestant neighbours, were ready enough to detect every 
thing m the king's conduct which might be construed into 
a deficiency of liberality towards Belgium-partiality to 
Holland— or want of discernment, in reference to the 
clashing interests of the two countries; one of which was 
principally commercial— the other, though once the empo- 
rium of the world, now chiefly characterized as agricul- 
tural and manufacturing. The Dutch debt, moreover, was 
felt to be a galling drag on the southern Netherlands as it 
was much heavier than their own, and was nevertheless 
divided between the two countries, in equal portions; 
l nc ; e ^ r0S i e a , great increase of taxation, as compared with 
what they had paid when allied to France. The Bel^ic 
provinces, at the time of the union, reckoned a population 
of considerably more than three millions— the Dutch little 
more than two ; yet the same number of representatives, 
which was hfiy-frve, was assigned to each. An evident 
feeling of national hostility was often to be witnessed 
among the deputies ; and the absurd spectacle was ex- 
niDited-of a legislative assembly, sitting in grave debate 
some 01 the members of which, delivered their speeches in 
a language which the rest did not understand ! The liberty 
and obfc r udties! SOj WM ^^ by legal e( l ui ™ cati °ns 
The Belgians were much attached to the trial by jury • 
—but as this practice was not established in the criminal 
courts of Holland, it had been arbitrarily abolished in Bel- 
gium. 1 he judges, too, were removable at the pleasure of 
the government ; and the king's ministers were not dis- 
tinctly responsible for their acts. The French language 
had been universally employed in records, and at the bar 
as well as in the affairs of commerce; but now the Dutch' 
or the Flemish, was ordered to be used; and no docu- 
ments written in any other tongue could become valid bv 
a legal stamp :— the consequence was, that many Belgians 
knowing nothing but French, became immediately dis- 
qualified for their professions, and were deprived of the 



BELGIC REVOLUTION OF 1830. 47 

means of subsistence. Not only was the sovereign a 
Hollander ; — the court — the ministers — and most of the 
officers in the army, were also Dutch ; and in the Chamber 
— though the numbers were balanced— one single Belgian 
deputy, gained over by ministerial influence, might, at any 
time, turn the scale in favour of a measure, by which the 
interests of Holland were chiefly advanced. 

The disaffection of the Belgians was increased, in 
consequence of their being accustomed, whether right or 
wrong, to trace the ruin of the commerce which had sur- 
vived their ancient desolations, to the Dutch connexion. 
The character of the administration, moreover, had been 
practically obnoxious. Van Maanen had guided the 
councils of the cabinet, from a period almost coeval with 
the existence of the new kingdom ; and had employed his 
talents, which were great, in pursuing a career of absolu- 
tism, with a blindfold firmness of purpose, not less decided 
than that of De Polignac, the premier of Charles X. Van 
Maanen was indeed the ascendant planet of the revolution, 
and so malignant an influence did the Belgic party consider 
his arbitrary councils to shed over their provinces, that 
they pronounced him to be a sort of second Alva, not in- 
deed a military executioner, but a political autocrat, an 
' A.lva in ermine.' 

The system of taxation, also, was peculiarly odious to 
the Belgians, as they became possessed of the idea, that 
it sacrificed their agriculture to the Dutch trade ; and the 
mode in which the taxes were levied, was also felt to be 
annoying and oppressive. The mouture, and the abattage, 
were special sources of discontent ; the former being a 
tax on grain, which was attended with certain vexatious 
regulations, and raised the price of bread ; the latter, a 
tax on the slaughter of cattle, accompanied with condi- 
tions equally obnoxious. 

Several very unpopular prosecutions, attended with 
fine, imprisonment, and banishment, had occurred, within 
about two years of the final explosion ; the press had been 
subject to still more stringent laws ; and the smothered 
elements of discord continued to work in secret, till the 
revolution of the three days in Paris, found them ready to 
break forth. As in other cases, the most heterogeneous 
mixtures were found combining to produce the result ; 
and liberals, and Catholics, were alike disaffected. The 
anti-Dutch party had ascertained their strength, in 1829, 
during which years, three hundred thousand persons had 
signed petitions against Van Maanen's continuance in 
office; demanding, among other objects, the independ- 
ence of bhe Catholic church, on the state, in all religious 



48 causes or the 

matters ; for the Catholic party did not like the attempts 
that had been made to repress bigotry, and spread educa- 
tion. 

At length, on the 25th of August, 1830, a trivial circum- 
stance sufficed to throw Belgium into a blaze — a riot in 
Brussels, against the local mouture, or tax on grain, as in- 
creasing the price of bread. The first act of violence was 
manifested towards the printer of a ministerial paper; — 
afterwards the house of Van Maanen, among others, was 
set on fire ; and private property became insecure. In- 
deed, at first, mischief seemed to be the chief object; and 
to this, the distresses of the manufacturing classes unhap- 
pily furnished ample incitement ; for poverty and taxation 
were, among the mob, the grand theme of complaint. 

A declaration was now drawn up, demanding an exe- 
cution of the laws of the Union, without restriction or 
partiality — the dismissal of Van Maanen — the suspension 
of the abattage, or slaughter duty — a new and more popu- 
lar system of taxation — the re-establishment of trial by 
jury — the freedom of the press, without censorship — the 
legal responsibility of ministers — the establishment of high 
courts of judicature in the southern provinces — the termi- 
nation of all judicial processes against liberal writers — the 
reversal of all sentences for political offences — and assis- 
tance to workmen, till the state of affairs should allow 
them to resume their labour. The civic guard, who were 
under arms to protect property, declared that if the king's 
troops attempted to enter Brussels, they would resist them. 
The king, whose personal character rendered him highly 
worthy of esteem, was naturally in great perplexity : and, 
perhaps, by instantaneous concession, might have saved 
half his kingdom; — but he regarded this procedure as be- 
neath the dignity of the crown, and intimated as much to 
the deputies who were sent from Brussels to the Hague. 
He, however, promised to take every thing into his serious 
consideration ; — and immediately convoked the States- 
General: — but nothing occurred that was satisfactory to a 
people, now, every day, increasing their demands, and 
seeking further changes ; — or if concessions were made, 
they came beyond the eleventh hour. 

The artificial tie which, for sixteen years, had bound 
the two nations together, being once relaxed — the opposi- 
tion of their sympathies manifested itself, in all directions, 
t eveYy moment; for while the Dutch idea of government 
savoured of the old Stadtholdership, the Belgians were 
attached to the principles of the French revolution. The 
Prince of Orange, after threatening to attack the city 
with his troops, was obliged at last to consent to enter it, 



BELGIC REVOLUTION OF 1830. 49 

attended simply by his staff, and to traverse streets that 
were defended with barricades ; and on his arrival at the 
Grande Place, he found eight or ten thousand bayonets 
bristling around him — and the tri- coloured flag of Brabant 
floating over the Hotel de Ville. Though the prince was 
respectfully received, he retired to his camp, without hav- 
ing effected any favourable result ; and, at length, the in- 
surgents declared that nothing would content them, short 
of the separation of the two countries — the king still re- 
maining the head of both ; as precedents for which scheme, 
they urged the cases of Sweden and Norway — Russia and 
Poland — Austria and Hungary. 

The document containing the king's reply to the ques- 
tion — whether he would agree to the separation — being 
unsatisfactory, it was publicly trampled under foot, at Brus- 
sels; and a provisional government was now formed. 
On the 26th of September, the king's troops were com- 
pelled to evacuate the capital ; and, by this time, the flame 
of revolution had so spread through Belgium, that to subdue 
it was a hopeless task: the Dutch dominion was pro- 
nounced to be at an end; and De Potter, returning from 
banishment, headed the party who advocated a republic ; 
but the Belgic Congress, after declaring the country inde- 
pendent, and discussing, for three days, the question of 
the future form of government, determined on a hereditary 
monarchy. After many debates and negociations, the 
offered crown was accepted by Prince Leopold, who was 
installed King of the Belgians, at Brussels, on the 21st of 
July, 1831. 

Leopold had scarcely grasped the sceptre, when he was 
obliged to exchange it for the sword ; for immediately 
after the existing armistice, between Holland and Belgium, 
had expired, the Dutch entered the country; and the 
Prince of Orange met, in the field of war, him whom he 
had once seen carrying off the rich matrimonial prize, in 
England, to which he had himself, in vain, aspired — and 
who had, now, taken possession of more than half the 
kingdom to which he was the legitimate heir. Leopold, 
however, was routed, and compelled to make a hasty re- 
treat, pursued by the Prince ; who soon came up with him, 
before Louvain, and obliged him to surrender that city: 
and it was evident that the Dutch would very soon have 
been in force at Brussels, had not the march of a French 
army, of forty or fifty thousand men, into Belgium, saved 
Leopold, and his already tottering throne. His subsequent 
marriage with the daughter of France, has undoubtedly 
much strengthened his position. 

On leaving Liege, we met a funeral procession: the 

VOL. vi. 5 



50 THE PROTESTANT RELIGION 

deep and peculiar tones in which the mournful dirge was 
chanted by the priests, with their hands joined in the atti- 
tude of prayer — had a solemn effect; but the whole scene x 
excited only the sneers of our fellow-travellers. How 
lamentable that popery should be all these people know of 
Christianity! The common remark — that France, and 
Belgium, want a religion— appears strikingly true. Na- 
tions, in the mass, are not formed for the cold abstraction 
of entire unbelief; the spread of knowledge in Catholic 
countries, may indeed, produce an infidel laxnass towards 
every thing sacred ; but the approach of death will bring 
back the prodigal to the arms of the church; — the people 
must have something — good, or bad — which meets their 
hopes and fears. When shall the pure light of the Truth 
diffuse its illumination over this land of moral and spiritual 
darkness ! We were informed, on our voyage to Ostend, 
by an inhabitant of that place, that the Belgian govern- 
ment had lately voted ten thousand francs for the support 
of the English Protestant churches at Ostend, Bruges, 
Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels — the ministers of which, are 
elected by the English inhabitants of those towns : but the 
grand energies of Protestantism, will be found to consist 
in the spontaneous exertions of its children. The Catholic 
clergy are appointed by the government. 

The history of the Protestant religion in Belgium has 
already been shown to possess a painful interest, on ac- 
count of the exterminating persecutions of the 16th cen- 
tury. Early after the commencement of the Reformation, 
in Germany, its doctrines found, in the seventeen provinces 
of the Low Countries, many warm friends and advocates; 
and in the course of a few years, the principal cities num- 
bered, in their population, as many Protestants as Catho- 
lics. After the intolerable persecutions and butcheries of 
the reigns of Charles V. and his son Philip II., which 
roused the seven northern provinces, now called Holland, 
to throw off the iron yoke of fierce and bigoted Spain, the 
Protestant religion, which finally triumphed in those parts 
— had, in the south, become almost extinct; and under the 
Spanish, and the Austrian sway, in the 17th and 18th cen- 
turies, very few Protestant churches remained in the pro- 
vinces now constituting the Belgian monarchy. 

During the period that the country remained incor- 
porated with France — from the time of the French Revo- 
lution to the fall of Napoleon — a few Protestant chapels 
were opened in some of the larger cities. After the 
southern provinces of the Low Countries were annexed to 
the northern, by the Congress of Vienna — to form the 
United Kingdom of the Netherlands, under the govern- 



IN BELGIUM. 51 

merit of William of Nassau — successful efforts, encour- 
aged by the king, were made to promote the Protestant 
religion: churches and chapels were now to be found in 
most of the important cities of Belgium, and the cause of 
truth made considerable progress. M. Merle d'Aubigne, 
now president of the Evangelical School of Theology at 
Geneva, preached for several years at Brussels, during 
the latter part of the Dutch dominion — and with consider- 
able success. 

The progress of the Protestant faith received a tempo- 
rary check, at the Revolution of 1830; and the Catholics 
were in great hopes of getting rid, altogether, of Protestant 
sway: through the influence of England, however, a 
government has been established, on enlightened princi- 
ples, under Leopold ; and by the charter, perfect toleration 
is secured to all religious opinions. Several of the Pro- 
testant churches were reduced very low, in 1830, by the 
withdrawal of great numbers of Dutch families into Hol- 
land; and the new government refused to support the 
pastors, as heretofore, on account of the insignificance of 
the congregations : yet there is reason to believe that Pro- 
testantism has, by this time, in a great measure, recovered 
from the shock which it appeared to sustain at the revolu- 
tion ; and that it will continue to make advances, in a soil 
of freedom, and under the influence of those spontaneous 
sacrifices of money — talent — time — and labour — which 
constitute the surest basis, on which the gospel may be 
expected to command the unbougbt, and universal homage 
of mankind, and achieve the triumphs of the millennium. 

There is a Bible Society at Brussels, which has printed 
the New Testament in the Flemish language; and which, 
notwithstanding many difficulties, is doing much good : 
a Tract Society also exists, which has printed many small 
treatises in Flemish. M. Boucher conducts a religious 
periodical entitled La V trite ; and this faithful and zealous 
young minister preaches to a congregation at Brussels, 
apparently with success. M. Devismes, another devoted 
minister of the gospel, labours at Dour, near Valen- 
ciennes; and has been very useful to the miners of that 
region. About 400,000 children are instructed, in schools, 
throughout Belgium : they have, till of late, been very 
destitute of Bibles, but are now being supplied, through 
the agency of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 
the schools of Brussels, eight hundred and forty copies of 
the sacred records have been distributed, very lately, in 
the course of a few weeks; and colporteurs, or itinerant 
venders of the Scriptures, are continually employed in 



52 ROAD TO AIX-LA^CHAPELLE. 

diffusing and explaining them, wherever they can find 
opportunity. 

By means of these, and similar exertions, not a few of 
the Belgians have, within these last five or six years, been 
brought to the Protestant faith, at Brussels, and other 
cities: but the overwhelming mass still remain Roman 
Catholics, and, next to those of Spain, are reckoned the 
most bigotted on the continent of Europe. From a 
pamphlet written about the beginning of 1835, by M. de 
Potter, who took so conspicuous a part in the Revolution, 
it would seem, that the priests have tried every indirect 
means in their power, to contravene the spirit of the char- 
ter, in regard to religious freedom. 



LETTER V. 

Road to Aix-la-Chapelle — Prussian frontier — Germany — Town- 
house — Mineral waters — Change in the coin — Public walks — 
Cathedral — Charlemagne — Relics, in the sanctuary — General out- 
line of German history — Conflicts between the German tribes and 
the Romans — Empire of Charlemagne — Its division — Extinction of 
the Carlovingian dynasty in Germany — The German empire 
elective — House of Saxony — House of Franconia — House of Sau- 
bia — Great Interregnum — Rudolph, and the first Austrian dynasty 
— Second Austrian dynasty, or Lorraine branch — Dignity of the 
Holy Roman Empire — Effect of the French Revolution, and the 
subsequent power of Bonaparte — Confederation of the Rhine; and 
dissolution of the German empire — Austrian empire — Gigantic 
efforts of Germany against the return of Bonaparte to power, in 
1815 — Germanic Confederation. 

My dear Friend : The road to Aachen — or,as the French 
call it — Aix-la-Chapelle, passes through a very rich coun- 
try, covered with many villages ; but we were much an- 
noyed with immense clouds of dust; and while we had 
dust from without, there was smoke within, for the pipe 
was now, for the first time, introduced, without ceremony, 
into the diligence ; but we were on the borders of Ger- 
many. As we advanced, the road wound beautifully be- 
tween the hills, and the country was delightfully wooded, 
on an immense scale. Near Verviers, where is manufac- 
tured the finest cloth of the Netherlands, our passport was 
very civilly inspected, preparatory to entering the Prus- 
sian dominions ; and, farther on, it was regularly vise; and 
the luggage was searched by the Prussian authorities. 



AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 53 

At Neaux, or Reipen, another manufacturing town, all the 
inscriptions on the houses became at once changed from 
French to German, indicating that we were now in the ter- 
ritory which, after the downfall of the French dominion, 
was annexed, by the Congress of Vienna, to Prussia — 
once a petty duchy of the German empire, but which has, 
by degrees, become a first-rate European power. As we 
proceeded, the road became worse and worse : we had 
before experienced nothing like it 5 the jolting was quite 
electrical. 

Aix-la-Chapelle is a city of Roman origin — the ancient 
coronation-place of the German emperors. The entrance 
to it is very handsome, by a uniform, new street ; and as 
you proceed into the town, there are very good walks and 
boulevards. This city was the birth-place of Charlemagne. 
It possesses at present only a fraction of its former popu- 
lation, but has still all the air of a place of great impor- 
tance. The central part contains the Town-house, a very 
large building, situated in the Market-square, on the site 
of Charlemagne's favourite palace. I was obliged to re- 
pair to this ptace, to obtain another passport — the Belgic 
one, procured in London, being no longer of any avail. 
In the Town-house, is the spacious room which was the 
banquetting-hall of the emperors, in the day of their new 
imperial glory. One of the towers of this edifice is a work 
of the Romans. Opposite the entrance is an ancient 
fountain, constantly projecting several streams of water, 
and surmounted with a very fine copper statue of Charle- 
magne, who seems honoured in this city as a kind of tute- 
lar saint. 

The sulphurous waters were celebrated in the time of 
this monarch, and still attract many visitors — giving to 
the town the decided character of a watering-place, with 
all the usual accommodations for the invalid and the 
fashionable. There is a new and elegant building, in the 
best part of the town, under the portico of which, at the 
base of a flight of steps, the hot spring is made to issue, 
in two streams, from a lion's mouth. A band of music 
was playing, and the company were parading the neigh- 
bouring public walks, as at Cheltenham or Leamington ; 
but German and French, instead of English, met the ear. 
The water contains a large quantity of sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, with a smaller proportion of carbonic acid gas; and, 
according to Bergman, the solid ingredients are nearly 
five grains each — of carbonate of lime, and muriate of 
soda, and twelve grains of carbonate of soda — in a pint 
of the water. The taste is not very unpleasant. 

At Aix-la-Chapelle, we first began to experience the in- 

5* 



54 AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

convenience of a change in the money. All through Bel- 
gium, French coins prevail; consisting of go\& napoleons, 
or louts ; francs and their fractional pieces, in silver; and, 
in copper, centim.es, and the old sous. The French franc 
is worth about ninepence, and three-fifths, English, more 7 
or less ; and is divided into a hundred parts, called cen- 
times, of which the sous contains five. Dutch money is 
also current, in florins and cents. The value of a ten- 
florin gold piece is twenty-one francs and a half, or seven- 
teen shillings English. At Aix, the Prussian money began 
to be current, and our bills were now made out in thalers, 
silber-grosclien, and pfennings : a thaler, or dollar, is worth 
about three francs and three-quarters, or nearly three 
shillings English; thirty groschen make a thaler; and 
there are twelve pfennings in a groschen, so that ten 
pfennings amount to about a penny English. 

We found, on consulting the excellent Tableaux des 
Monnaies, by Charles Jugel of Frankfort, that, at the inns, 
advantage was generally taken, in giving change, for 
money of one kind, in coin of another: the difference, 
however, was seldom of any consequence. We had 
availed ourselves of the convenience of taking with us 
circular exchange notes, payable at a great number of 
places ; and not the slightest difficulty or delay occurred 
in obtaining cash at the banks, without any discount, at 
the current rate of exchange for the time being — unless, 
for the sake of convenience, gold were desired, which 
always bore a premium. It is also a wise precaution, to 
have always in reserve, a few English sovereigns, or 
French napoleons, as they will go every where, without 
much loss; and thus the traveller will avoid being in the 
awkward predicament of one or two gentlemen whom we 
met with ; who, with plenty in their pockets, were penni- 
less, because their stock of cash was exhausted, at a dis- 
tance from places at which their exchange notes were 
payable. 

The public promenades, on the outskirts of the city, are 
very extensive, and commodious ; but they were so filled 
with clouds of dust, that to walk in them was a work of 
supererogation: the citizens of Aix do not seem, as yet, 
to have arrived at the summer luxury of watered roads. 
Early in the morning after our arrival, I took a walk along 
the old ruined wall, which cammands a fine view of the 
town; but its appearance was not near so imposing as 
that of Liege, from the heights above it. Aix is much 
sheltered by hills, but there is a distant prospect of a more 
open country, towards the south. Some of the modern 
parts of the town, are very fine and spacious, and the 



AtX-LA-CHAPELLfi. 55 

pump-room, and the theatre, certainly have a splendid ap- 
pearance. At the corners of many streets, particularly in 
the ancient part, are images ; and it is evident that here, 
as elsewhere, superstition has, ages ago, struck deeply 
its roots. In some places, wreaths of flowers, evergreens, 
and festoons of eggs, mingled with small pieces of glass, 
continually tinkling in the wind, were hung across the 
streets, in honour of some saint. 

In the decorations of Romish churches, there seems to 
be an endless variety. In one, situated east of the cathe- 
dral, the pillars were ornamented with mirrors, each of 
which had a candle placed before it. The underlings 
were going about collecting money as usual ; for either 
the money-box, or the bag, like an inverted velvet cap, 
suspended at the end of a stick, meets you at every turn. 

The cathedral did not fail to attract a considerable share 
of our notice ; which it well deserved, as being rich in the 
associations of the past, and in relics of the deepest and 
most costly superstition. The nave, which was built by 
Charlemagne, is an octagon, approaching to the general 
appearance of the churches of the holy sepulchre : its ex- 
ceedingly massy and heavy pillars support a gallery, the 
ceilings of which are finely painted, in fresco ; and the 
centre of the dome is rich Mosaic. The loftiness of the 
choir is prodigious, and has a fine effect. Beneath the 
dome is a plain marble slab, with the inscription Carolo 
Magno ; for it was here that this mighty monarch was in- 
terred, in 814. After the lapse of a century and three- 
quarters, his successor, the emperor Otho III., indulged in 
that ghostly curiosity which has often led to the attempt 
to bring again to light those who have, for ages, dwelt in 
silence and darkness ; on the sepulchre being opened, the 
extraordinary spectacle presented itself, of the embalmed 
monarch, sitting in a marble chair, crowned, and attired 
in imperial robes — adorned with the most costly orna- 
ments of gold; and having the gospels, in golden plates, 
on his knees. 

Nor was the body of Charlemagne, even after this dis- 
closure, allowed quietly to repose; for, in 1165, the empe- 
ror Frederic T. took a fancy to pay him another visit; and 
two bishops were now ordered to remove his remains, and 
to place them in an antique sarcophagus, exquisitely 
carved, representing the story of Proserpine. The French, 
in the pride of their triumph — when they claimed the s] oils 
of Europe as their own — carried off this Roman monu- 
ment to Paris : it has, how T ever, been restored. The an- 
cient and costly columns which supported the nave v ere, 



56 AIX-LA-CHAPELLE* 

at the same time, taken away, but part of them have also 
been returned. 

The marble chair, no longer the throne of him whom 
the strange fondness of survivors desired to render, as it 
were, the monarch of all the dead, when he could no longer 
reign over the living, was transferred to the gallery of the 
church, to be the coronation-seat of future princes; and 
our party were ambitious enough to ascend for a moment, 
by its marble steps, this chair, on which Charlemagne sat 
in his tomb for three hundred and fifty years ; and on 
which six-and-thirty sovereigns have been inaugurated to 
reign over the holy Roman empire, in the midst of all the 
splendour of the Gothic and feudal times. The pomp of 
the coronations was aided by the erection of a temporary 
flight of steps, reaching from the floor of the church to 
the foot of this chair of state, which was covered, on the 
occasion, with plates of gold. 

Among other remarkable objects, are some paintings of 
Albert Durer, whose pieces are highly valued on account 
of their scarcity : — also, the altar of black and white mar- 
ble, with its tabernacle of blue marble; and the pulpit, 
which is only exhibited on high days and holidays, ex- 
cepting to strangers. It is usually kept covered with a 
carved case which, when removed, discovers a front of 
what were once, at least, plates of gold, ivory, and pre- 
cious stones : how far gilding and paste may now supply 
them, we were not informed ; but the appearance is mag- 
nificent. 

In Belgium, we had not observed much repetition of the 
responses ; but, here, the people appeared quite in earnest, 
and sang them in a very loud tone, alternately with a 
priest, who went into the pulpit and read. Afterwards, a 
very common-looking man, in a blue frock, came into the 
church, and began uttering his prayers aloud, in a stand- 
ing posture, without book, and in German. His eye was 
fixed — his manner impassioned, and the whole effect bor- 
dered strongly upon the fanatical : after a while, a num- 
ber of people joined him, as they had before accompanied 
the priest. 

But the objects, in this church, which leave the strongest 
impression on the mind, are the Holy Relics for which it 
has been, during many ages, so celebrated. We were 
conducted, by the verger, into a gloomy chamber, where 
a priest was soon in readiness, to show us these sacred 
and far-famed curiosities. Two candles were lighted im- 
mediately on our entering the sacristy— probably to keep 
away any malignant influence which these holy things 
might receive from the gaze of heretics ; for the room was 



'THE SANCTUARY. 57 

hot so dark, as that candle-light was of any service ; and 
we had fancied, on previous occasions, that our approach 
to any thing sacred, was frequently accompanied with 
this lighting up of candles. 

The great relics are kept in a large shrine, of silver 
gilt, and of venerable antiquity, in the form of a gothic 
tomb, ornamented with several sculptures in relief, and 
magnificently wrought with what are said to be precious 
stones. This case being opened, the following articles 
were gravely announced : — the large cloth in which the 
body of John the Baptist was wrapped, after his decapita- 
tion ; the robe of the Virgin Mary ; the swaddling clothes 
of the manager; and the linen winch our Saviour wore 
on the cross, retaining visible traces of his blood. This 
last relic is regarded as the most important of the whole ; 
and when these objects are exhibited for public adoration, 
the final benediction is pronounced in connexion with it. 
These relics are shown, for a fortnight, every seven years, 
from the gallery of the church, to crowds of devotees ; 
after which they are wrapped in new silk, of red, white, 
or yellow ; and the old silks which have been so long in 
contact with these sacred things, and have imbibed from 
them the odour of sanctity, are cut in pieces, and distri- 
buted as presents. 

The multitude of strangers that used, formerly, to throng 
this city, during the septennial festival, almost exceeds 
belief. The houses were crowded with pilgrims ; while so 
many still kept flocking into the town, that the gates were 
obliged to be shut, until some had given place to others ; 
and, at times, numbers were even trampled to death. It 
is said that in 1496, on one single day of the festival, there 
were no less than one hundred and forty-two thousand 
arrivals, and the golden pieces offered to the Virgin, in 
the same year, for the miracles supposed to be wrought 
by means of the holy relics, were in number eighty thou- 
sand ! 

Next were shown to us, what are termed the small relics, 
which are carried round the city in grand procession, 
once a year, and are contained in a variety of shrines and 
cases. We now had the privilege of gazing on what w ire 
said to be — the point of one of the nails with which our 
Saviour was pierced — a piece of the wood of the cross ; 
a tooth of St. Catherine ; a bone of Charlemagne's arm, 
inclosed in a large case of silver, representing a band and 
arm; apiece of the cord with which the hands of our 
Saviour were bound on the cross ; and his Leathern girdle, 
sealed with the seal of Constantine \ some hair or John 
the Baptist; an agnus Dei, or impression of a lamb bear- 






58 AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

ing a cross, consecrated in 1434, and accompanied with 
various relics ; a link of the chain which bound St. Peter 
in prison ; a morsel of St. Simeon's arm, in which he held 
our Saviour ; and another bone of Charlemagne ; a piece 
of the sponge with which the lips of Jesus were moistened 
on the cross, set in a golden sun, ornamented with enamel; 
a spine of the crown of thorns ; another considerable piece 
of the cross, inserted in a crucifix of gold ; the skull of 
Charlemagne, and his hunting-horn ; and the girdle of the 
Virgin Mary. 

The bones said to be those of Charlemagne, are pro- 
bably his real remains. There are many other relics ; but 
surely these maybe regarded as enough ! The costliness 
and beauty of the cases in which they are enshrined, are 
extreme ; and several of the objects are seen under glass. 
The number of the depositories which contain these re- 
lics, is between thirty and forty, varying in size, from 
massy shrines, like small tombs of silver and gold, to 
smaller cases of various forms, of the same metals, and 
of ivory, the whole being more or less adorned with pre- 
cious stones, or their substitutes. The priest who was in 
attendance, thinking, perhaps, that we betrayed symptoms 
of scepticism, said, Du moins ces reliques sont ici depuis 
plusieurs siecles : a remark quite as forbearing towards 
heretics as could be expected, in such an atmosphere. 

Among other curiosities which are also here preserved, 
and which were shown to us with the relics, are two ex- 
quisitely elegant crowns of gold, set with pearls, rubies, 
and diamonds : these ecclesiastical regalia were given by 
one of the Duchesses of Brabant, to adorn the images of 
the Virgin and Child. In short, nothing conveyed to the 
mind a more impressive idea than this church and its con- 
tents, of the amazing hold which superstition has been 
able to gain over mankind ! 

It is professed that many of these relics have been on 
this spot for nearly a thousand years ; and that Charle- 
magne, who collected the greater part of them, obtained 
several of the most important from Jerusalem, having be- 
come master, on his coronation at Rome, on Christmas 
Day, a. d., 800, as Emperor of the West, not only of the 
Holy Sepulchre, but of many other sacred places and 
treasures, which were presented to him by the King of 
Persia. He is said to have received some of these pre- 
cious objects from Constantinople, as presents from the 
Greek Emperors, to their mighty peer. Indeed Charle- 
magne seems to have been the pride and glory of the 
church, as well as of the field of war ; and those who 
either dreaded his arms, or admired his attachment to the 



THE SANCTUARY. 59 

Romish religion, sent him relics from the three quarters 
of the globe. These he distributed among the churches 
of which he was the founder; but reserved the prime of 
them for this, his favourite cathedral of Notre Dame, the 
chapel of his court. They profess still to have the cope 
in which Pope Leo III. assisted by three hundred and 
sixty-five bishops, officiated, in presence of Charlemagne, 
at the consecration of the church; but this was not shown. 
Charlemagne was so attached to Aix, that he made it his 
capital ; and ordained that all future sovereigns of the 
Holy Roman empire should first be crowned here, pre- 
paratory to their being confirmed in the imperial dignity, 
at Rome ; a mandate which was obeyed during ^ve hun- 
dred years. 

The pamphlet* containing an account of these relics, 
which is sold at Aix-la-Chapelle, under the imprimatur of 
the Vicar General, is one of the most remarkable exhibi- 
tions of modern popery ; showing that it clings to all the 
mysticism and dotage of the dark ages, amidst the va- 
rious and conflicting influences of the nineteenth century. 
Neither philosophy, nor rationalism ; nor the rays of ge- 
nuine truth, seem, here, to have disturbed its repose, in 
the gloomy sanctuary of its relics ; and it still dreams on, 
with an infatuated fondness, over all the images of super- 
stition, around which the brilliant empire of Charlemagne 
threw so false a glory. 

The singular book alluded to, besides a full account of 
the relics and arguments for their genuineness, contains 
the form of words, in which each of the four great relics, 
is annually announced to the people, and the petitions that 
are to be uttered, during the public exhibition of each. 
One of the last prayers, which is a bidding-prayer, is 
partly on behalf of ' our holy Father, 5 the Pope, and his 
cardinals, the King of Prussia, the Archbishop of Cologne, 
the city and authorities of Aix-la-Chapelle, the pilgrims 
who visit it, and the souls of the departed. The deluded 
votaries are, in this tract, taught to believe that the pre- 
sence and the contemplation of these relics, are a security 
for the special favour and intercession of those with whose 
persons they were formerly identified, as their remains, or 
as having been consecrated by their use:f and they are 
pronounced to be the source of all happiness, ivelfare, and 

* Schatzkammer des Aachencr Heiligthums, oder Kurzc Bcschrcibung 
der h h. Rnliquicn, welche von dem glorwiirdigsten Kaiser, Karl deni 
Grossen, in dor Kronungs-und Domkirche U. L. P. gesammclt word* n, 
und, alio sieben Jahre, gezeigt werden. Aachen, 183$, 

t Diese kostbaren Gegens'tandc versichern uns besondere Gnaden, und 
machtigere Furbitte, in Ansehung und Gegenwart jener Stucke, die sonst 






60 GENERAL OUTLINE OF 

prosperity , to the city;* having never been taken away, 
or fallen under the power of enemies, notwithstanding the 
devastations of the Normans, the troubles occasioned by 
heresy^ the frequent occupancy of the town by hostile 
armies, and its having been repeatedly reduced to ashes 
by fire, f 

The ambition of the conqueror, and the migratory en- 
terprise of the adventurer, have disregarded the great 
boundaries which nature has placed between the countries 
of the earth ; nor do mountains, or mighty rivers, form an 
effectual barrier. The distinction which has, from time 
immemorial, subsisted between the people inhabiting at a 
distance from the Rhine, westward, and those who have 
dwelt along its western shore, and in the country east- 
ward of its course, would seem to indicate that some of 
those fierce and warlike tribes, described in so full and 
interesting a manner by Tacitus, under the general name 
of Germany and who, appearing to have had a common 
origin, were spread over so vast a proportion of Europe, 
as scarcely to be included between the Rhine and the Vis- 
tula, the Danube and the ocean, settled within the limits of 
Gaul, and colonized its eastern border. In Caesar's divi- 
sion, all the German provinces on the left, or western bank 
of the Rhine, were included in Belgic Gaul. 

The vast forests of the ancient Germani, appear, from 
a remote antiquity, to have been the cradle of freedom, 
and of chivalry ; and about a century before the Christian 
era, immense armies of these nations menaced Italy, from 
the Alps, and made the Romans to tremble for their pos- 
sessions, till these barbarian tribes were overthrown, with 
terrific slaughter, by Marius. Half a century later, Julius 
Caesar, while engaged in his wars in Gaul, defeated the 
borderers of the Rhine, who had invaded that country, 
and obtained other victories over the Germani. These 
nations continued to furnish employment to the Roman 
arms, during the most splendid period of the empire ; and 
the name Germanicus was commonly given to those ge- 
nerals who had been on service in Germany ; among 
whom the most renowned was Germanicus Caesar, the 
son of Drusus, and father of the Emperor Caligula. 

From the time of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who 
died a. d. 180, the Germanic tribes became more and more 

mit ihrem Wesen vereinigt, oder ihnen zugehdrig und gewidmet waren. 
Vide Vorrede. 

* Diesem Orte alles Gliickj Heil, und Wohlstand, durch diese heilige 
Erbschaft zukommt. 31. 

t Schatzkammer, u. s. f., 32. 



GERMAN HISTORY. 61 

formidable to the waning empire ; and in the third cen- 
tury, they formed confederacies against the Romans ; 
who, instead of having it in their power further to subju- 
gate other nations, were now increasingly unable to de- 
fend themselves. At length, in the year 4?6, the northern 
hordes succeeded in dethroning Augustulus, the last sove- 
reign of the western division of the empire, and in finally 
destroying the Roman power. Italy, after repeatedly 
changing its masters, fell, towards the close of the eighth 
century, to a considerable extent, under the dominion of 
the Lombards, another northern people. These so ha- 
rassed Pope Adrain I. that he was glad to Obtain the as- 
sistance of Charlemagne, then King of the Franks ; who, 
having subdued the Lombards, and added their territory 
to his other conquests, revived the western empire ; and 
was crowned, as its sovereign, at Rome, in the year 800, 
by Leo III. Thus was founded the great Frankish domi- 
nion, comprehending Gaul, Italy, and Germany, to the 
Northern Sea ; and now, Germany, as part of this conso- 
lidation of territory, was, for the first time, united under 
the sway of one sovereign. 

After the death of this great monarch, his unwieldly 
empire, now in the hands of his son Louis le Debonnaire, 
scarcely sustained itself; and three years after the death 
of Louis, it was formally divided, by the treaty of Verdun, 
in 843, among his sons, Louis, Charles, and Lothaire ; of 
whom, the first obtained Germany, and was hence called 
Louis the German. Under his son, Charles le Gros, the 
great empire of Charlemagne reappeared, in 884 ; but the 
coherence of this heterogenous mass of nations was but 
of ephemeral duration ; for, in 887, Charles was deposed 
by the German states, of which Arnulph, son of Charles's 
brother Carloman, was now made king. Arnulph died in 
899, and was succeeded by his son Louis the Infant ; on 
whose death, in 911, the Carlovingian race became extinct, 
and Conrad, duke of Franconia, was made Emperor of 
Germany, by election. 

After Conrad's decease, Henry, surnamed the Fowler, 
was elected to the German throne, in 919 ; and with him 
commenced the dominion of the house of Saxony, from 
which country he had previously derived the title of Duke. 
The sway of these princes was remarkable for its war- 
like spirit, and for the victories that were gained over the 
Hungarian tribes : and, during this period, many of the 
German cities were founded. The practice of election to 
the empire now became an established law; and Germany 
was, from this time, a kind of imperial republic. Under 
Otho the Great, in the tenth century, the bounds of the 

VOL. vi. 6 



62 GENERAL OUTLINE OP 

empire were enlarged, so as to comprehend Rome and 
Italy ; but the emperor could not receive his title of Au- 
gustus till he had been crowned by the Pope : from the 
time of Charles V., however, this practice was discon- 
tinued. 

By the election of Conrad II, in 1024, the house of Sax- 
ony was succeeded by that of Franconia. In the reign of 
Henry III., of this dynasty, the German or Holy Roman 
Empire attained its maximum ; comprehending Germany 
Italy, Burgundy, and Lorraine; while Denmark, Hungary' 
Poland, and other districts of Sclavonia, were either its 
tributaries, or its vassals. About the beginning of the 
twelfth century, however, in consequence of the increas- 
ing influence of the papal church, and the rapid progress 
of the feudal system, which gave so much power to the 
electoral princes, the empire had begun to decline. On 
the death of Henry V, of Franconia, in 1125, Lothaire the 
Saxon received the crown. 

In 1138, Conrad III., son of the Duke of Suabia, was 
elected to this un wieldly aggregate of power, as successor 
to Lothaire ; and the emperors of the house of Suabia 
held the sovereignty upwards of another century, till the 
middle of the thirteenth. 

During the reigns of the latter Franconian princes, and 
those of Suabia, the ambition of the Popes, who claimed 
supreme dominion over Christendom, gave rise to per- 
petual contests between them and the Emperors ; and the 
factions of the Guelphs, and the Ghibelines, the respective 
partisans of each, held Germany and Italy in agitation for 
centuries ; during the whole of which period the authority 
of the emperors was constantly on the wane. 

After the death of the emperor Frederick II., in 1250 
occurred that period of lawlessness and confusion, known 
by the name of the Great Interregnum. Conrad IV., the 
son of Frederick, had, on his father's death, assumed the 
imperial title ; but William, Count of Holland, procured 
himself to be crowned in the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle 
and subsequently defeated Conrad in battle. On the dea+h 
of William, in 1256, the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne 
offered the imperial crown to Richard, Duke of Cornwall 
brother to Henry the Third, of England, and assisted at 
his coronation, in 1257 ; while the Archbishop of Treves 
declared Alphonso, King of Castile, emperor. Richard 
soon abdicated, and retired to England, with the empty 
title of King of the Romans ; which had been conferred 
on him previously to his election to the empire. From 
1258 to 1273, the empire was without a head, and in a state 
of the utmost anarchy : Conradin, son of Conrad IV., the 



GERMAN HISTORY. 63 

last of the Hohenstaufen family, or the house of Suabia, 
perished on the scaffold, at Naples. 

At length, in 1273, Rudolph, Count of Hapsburgh, was 
elected emperor, and laid the foundation of the greatness 
of the house of Austria, from which family most of the 
emperors were subsequently elected. The Austrian dy- 
nasty traces its origin to the lords of a small territory, on 
the river Aar, in the canton of Bern, in Switzerland ; 
where the remains of an ancient castle testify to the anti- 
quity of this imperial race. In 1440, Frederick III., Duke 
of Austria, was chosen to fill the German throne ; and the 
sovereign dignity descended in the male line of his fami- 
ly, for about three hundred years. In 1519, Charles V., 
heir to the Spanish crown, and grandson to Maximilian, 
the successor of Frederick, received the imperial sceptre. 
The male line of the race of Rudolph of Hapsburgh be- 
came extinct in 1740, by the death of Charles VI. Maria 
Theresa, only daughter of Charles, married the Duke of 
Lorraine ; and her son Joseph II. commenced the second 
imperial house of Austria ; namely, the Lorraine branch. 

While the German empire continued, its sovereign was 
regarded as having the precedency among the potentates 
of Europe. His power in the administration, however, 
was very limited, the supreme authority residing in the 
Diet, which consisted of the colleges of the electors, the 
princes, and the imperial towns. The electors, and princes, 
became vested with little less than regal supremacy, in 
their respective territories ; and were more powerful than 
some crowned heads. The people, originally, had a voice 
in the election of the emperor ; but this function ultimately 
devolved on the King of Bohemia, the Dukes of Bavaria, 
Saxony, and Hanover, the Prince Palatine of the Rhine, 
the Marquis of Brandenburg, afterwards King of Prussia, 
and the three Archbishops of Maintz, Treves, and Co- 
logne : the power of these lay and spiritual electors was 
almost equal to that of the emperors themselves. The 
spiritual, or archbishop-electors, certainly had functions 
and dignities of which the fishermen of Galilee never 
dreamed. They were Arch-Chancellors of the Holy Ro- 
man Empire in Germany, in Italy, and in Gaul, respec- 
tively ; though the title, so far as it related to Gaul, had 
become a mere name, long before the dissolution of the 
imperial dominion. 

To prevent the confusion that might sometimes arise 
from a contested election, while their was no sovereign, a 
successor to the emperor was frequently chosen by the 
electors, during his lifetime. This prince was crowned 
King of the Romans ; and addressed, like the emperor, 



64 GENERAL OUTLINE OF GERMAN HISTORY. 

with the title of l majesty.' But the pomp and glory of the 
Holy Roman Empire have passed away; and, like the 
more ancient, and more powerful empires of the world, it 
is numbered among the things that were. Napoleon, who 
aspired to the dominion of the west, seems, when emperor 
of the French, to have had in view the ancient custom of 
the German empire, in styling his successor-apparent, 
King of Borne. 

The French revolution, and the subsequent power o^ 
Bonaparte, rapidly hastened on the dismemberment of the 
Germanic empire. The provinces on the left bank of the 
Rhine were overwhelmed by the French : Bavaria, Wur~ 
temberg, and Saxony, were erected into three kingdoms, 
with the annexation of smaller states ; and the battle of 
Austerlitz, and the the subsequent treaty of Presburg, de- 
stroyed the power of Austria, and deprived her of her 
principalities of the Tyrol, and Suabia, her barriers against 
Italy and France. In 1806, soon after this treaty, most of 
the states in the north and south of Germany, renounced 
their connexion with the empire, and joined in a league, 
entitled ' The Confederation of the Rhine, 5 under the pro- 
tection of the Emperor Napoleon. The confederated 
powers agreed to hold their legislative assemblies at Frank- 
fort ; and to restrict their services, and assistance, to each 
other: in short, they were to constitute a cluster of mili- 
tary states, under the virtual dictation of Napoleon. The 
German emperor, Francis II., thus reduced in authority 
and power, formally abdicated the title of Emperorof Ger- 
many, at Vienna, August 6, 1806, assuming that of Em- 
peror of Austria. Thus was dissolved an empire that had 
lasted, with fluctuations, for the space of a thousand years, 
dating from Charlemagne. 

At the end of 1813, the French were expelled from every 
part of Germany; and the deposition of Napoleon, the 
downfall of the power of France, and the dissolution of 
the Confedary of the Rhine, in 1814, restored the smaller 
sovereigns to their dominions. On Bonaparte's reappear- 
ance in France, "from Elba, in 1815, the most gigantic 
efforts were made, in Germany, to prevent his return to 
power; and on his final overthrow at Waterloo, on the 
18th of June, in the same year, it is said that 1,200,000 
men, armed, and unarmed, were prepared to march against 
him. The Congress of Vienna now made a proposal to 
Francis, the Austrian emperor, that he should resume the 
ancient title, which offer he declined to accept. 

Germany once more assumed the appearance, at least, 
of a political whole, in the constitution of the confedera- 
tion, (Bundes Verfassung,) which was formed in June, 



6T. JULIERS. 65 

1815. In this imperfectly balanced union of powers, 
Austria and Prussia have naturally a predominant influ- 
ence ; though they have withholden from the confedera- 
tion several of their provinces which are not German. The 
component parts of the Germanic Confederation are 
thirty-eight, thirty-four being monarchical states, the 
heads of which have various titles. The four remaining 
parts, are the free cities of Frankfort on the Maine, Ham- 
burg, Bremen, and Lubeck. The principal object of the 
confederacy was to secure the independence and integrity 
of each state ; and to maintain internal, and external 
tranquillity, by uniting to check any mutual aggressions 
among the states themselves ; and to repel the attack of a 
foreign enemy. In case of clashing interests, or the oc- 
currence of disputes, no part of the confederation can go 
to war, or make peace, or a truce, or any such engagement, 
independently of the rest, each member being bound to 
yield to the decision of the whole. The internal manage- 
ment of the states is left, in general, to the care of the 
respective governments ; and they are always to have in 
readiness for the purposes of the confederation, an army, 
levied in the proportion of one man to every hundred in- 
habitants. The Diet, or Assembly of Plenipotentiaries, 
consists of delegates from the various states, and is held 
at Frankfort. 



LETTER VI. 

Road to Cologne — Juliers — Bergheim — Catholic Subscription for the 
New Testament, in Germany — Cologne — The Rhine— Churches — 
Deutz— Cologne Cathedral — The Three Kings — Churches of St. 
Ursula, St. Gereon, and St. Peter — Voyage on the Rhine to Bonn 
— Fieschi— The Seven Mountains — Bonn — Cathedral— Popples- 
dorf— Kreutzberg — Protestant Church at Bonn — Church of the 
Jesuits — King of Prussia's Birth-Day — University of Bonn. 

My dear Friend : We left the good accommodations of 
the Rhine Hotel, at Aix-la-Chapelle, at six in the morning, 
for Cologne ; a distance of about forty-five miles. We 
stopped, first, at St. Juliers, a strongly fortified place, situ- 
ated in a plain ; where our horses were baited with bread. 
On inquiring what bread it was ? the answer was, ' Rocken- 
brotj rye-bread ; and it was amusing to see the horses, 
and the driver, standing together, and sharing the same 
6* 



66 CATHOLIC EDITION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

fare. We afterwards traversed a flat, and unenclosed, but 
highly cultivated country. The paved road was lined with 
fine trees, among which were the apple, the cherry, and 
the walnut, interspersed with numerous crucifixes ; some 
of which stood in the corn-fields, surrounded, to some 
distance, with turf. 

Every thing now reminded us of the Prussian authority; 
all the barriers, railed bridges, and guard-houses, being 
painted in white and black stripes. We also observed 
that, since we had changed governments, the road was 
measured in a novel manner ; small stones being placed 
in the ground, thirty or forty in a mile, at regular intervals, 
marking the distance from Cologne. The weather was 
intensely hot; and, at Bergheim, we stopped till the heat of 
the day was abated. This little town, with its walls and 
gates, reminds you, like most other places, even the small- 
est, in these parts, of wars and sieges. It is a great 
thoroughfare into Germany ; and five or six carriages 
were sometimes seen posting through it at once, during 
our stay. 

Judging from appearances, superstition seems to in- 
crease, in this direction, rather than to diminish. One of 
the numerous crucifixes we had seen, was just outside 
one of the gates of Bergheim; and, here, a poor old lady 
was carefully telling her beads. It was, however, some 
counterpoise, to find on the table of the inn, which was the 
Duke of Wellington, a prospectus, printed at Nurenberg, 
in May, 1835, containing an invitation to Catholic Germa- 
ny, to unite in subscribing for an edition of the New Tes- 
tament, in the vernacular tongue, from the Vulgate, to 
be published under the auspices of the church :* in order, 
as the prospectus stated, that both clergy and laity might 
do their utmost to diffuse the New Testament scriptures, 
so that not a single cottage should be without them; and 
that there might be no school in which they should not be 
read. The price is to be twelve and a half silbergroschen 
for each of the four numbers, or about five shillings the 
whole ; a sum which shows that the art of cheap scripture- 
printing is still to be learned here : but the fact itself is a 
phenomenon ; as being entirely at variance with the prac- 
tice of the Romish Church. Whether this measure be 
' dictated by the mere policy of doing something by way of 
accommodation to the spirit of the age, or from better 
motives, it is, at all events, a matter of rejoicing that, al- 

* Einladung an das Katolische Dentschland, zur Subscription auf 
das mit Piipstlicher Approbation erscheinende Neue Testament 
unsers Herrn und Heilandes Jesu Christi. 



COLOGNE. 67 

though the sacred fountain of divine knowledge may flow 
through the channel of Romanism, truth will, nevertheless, 
be diffused among the people ; and that the grand principle 
of reading the scriptures for themselves, will begin to' ac- 
quire a currency which it has never before attained. 

The country from Bergheim was still unenclosed, but 
luxurious, and overspread with the abundant sheaves of 
harvest. A large cemetery, on the left, laid out in a pictu- 
resque manner, announced our approach to Colonge, or 
Koln, which we entered through some fortifications, and 
by narrow streets ; and took up our abode at the Gasthof 
zum Grossen Rheinberg. We were now upon the banks 
of the far-famed Rhine, the river of Roman story, con- 
secrated by the ashes of martyrs, and rendered classic by 
the many legends of poetry and romance : nor can those 
stupendous movements be forgotten, which its banks have 
witnessed in modern times ; when he who afterwards as- 
sumed the name of Protector of the Confederation of the 
Rhine, but was really its master, marched his vast armies 
across these waters, and changed the destinies of the an- 
cient German empire. 

It is said that, at the taking of Hockheim, a place near 
Mentz, when the Austrian troops obtained their first view 
of the Rhine, from the summit of a hill, they suddenly 
halted to gaze on the noble stream, which had been familiar 
to them by name, during the preceding fifteen years, as the 
centre of so many momentous, warlike events : the firing 
ceased, and on the generaPs inquiring the cause of the 
delay, the soldiers shouted, and instantly rushed down upon 
the enemy, and drove them into the river. What a strange 
compound of elements is man! 

The emotions with which this noble stream is beheld 
for the first time, are increased, in consequence of its 
bein^ concealed by the houses, till its ample flood, upwards 
of a quarter of a mile in breadth, bursts upon you at once, 
from the windows of the principal hotels. Close to the 
Rheinberg, is the bridge of boats, constructed to rise and 
fall with the tide, and forming a pleasant walk over to 
Deutz, one of the suburbs, on the opposite shore; where, 
in the evening, some gardens appeared brilliantly illu- 
minated. 

In the morning, after seeing the Dutch steamboat begin 
its voyage to Nimeguen, we set off to take a general view 
of Cologne, which is of great extent, lying along the bank 
of the river, for between two and three miles. The inte- 
rior of the town is old, and exhibits a strange mixture of 
the styles of building that have successively prevailed, 
through many centuries. It owes its name to the colony 



68 DEUTZ. 

which Claudius, the Roman emperor, sent here, by desire 
of his wife Agrippina, who was born on the spot. Hence 
Cologne was, originally, called Colonia Agrippina; and 
it has retained to modern times, traces of tne Roman 
forms of municipal government. It has upwards of sixty 
thousand inhabitants, encloses a vast space, with many 
gardens and orchards, and is fortified on the land side. 
The walk along the bank of the Rhine is delightful : but 
Cologne itself is by no means an agreeable place, many 
parts having a very ruinous appearance ; and its odours 
form but too sensible a contrast to the celebrated water of 
Jean Marie Farina, to the depot of which we were con- 
ducted. The town has an antique, gothic aspect, and the 
only specimen of Grecian architecture is the beautiful 
Town-House. 

Several churches were open, at this early hour ; among 
others St. Severin's, St. John's and St. Helen's, which 
contain brazen fonts, odd old paintings of popish legends, 
or miserable daubs of wretches in purgatory, some of 
whom are lifted out by priests, using their rosaries as 
ropes, and being thus exhibited as the saviours of the 
people. In one of these churches, a woman was reading 
her prayers aloud ; in another, were a number of children, 
one of whom read, while the others responded ; afterwards 
all sung together, in good time, the priest at the altar con- 
tinuing his pantomimic genuflexions, with little apparent 
connexion with the worship of the rest. In St. James's 
was a figure, probably of the patron saint, in whose hand 
a bunch of early grapes had been put, as first fruits. It 
was ludicrous, here, to see a man carrying a lighted lan- 
thorn before the priest, as he came down from the altar, 
in broad day light ; but Romanism would fain prolong the 
night. The money box, as usual, was handed round, at 
the sound of a bell. A large school of children were pre- 
sent, with their slates and baskets on their arms ; and it 
was melancholy to think of so many poor innocents being 
subjected, from their tender age, to this system of spiritual 
despotism and darkness. 

We went over the water to Deutz ; and entered the 
church, at the time of a funeral. The altars were dressed 
with black screens, having skulls and cross bones painted 
on them ; and the coffin was placed in the middle aisle, with 
many high tapers burning around it. The smoke of in- 
cense from a vessel on the floor was rising up over the 
bier, and five or six priests, habited in mourning robes, 
said the mass for the dead : the organ tones, in the minor 
key, had a very plaintive effect \ and the whole ceremony 
was exceedingly solemn. When it was over, the friends 



THE THREE KINGS. 69 

of the deceased walked past an altar, where stood a salver 
in which each deposited an offering, which the priest bless- 
ed with extended arms ; and which we supposed was to 
be a ransom from the pains of purgatory, by purchasing 
masses. Every thing seemed here to breathe the spirit of 
the dark, dismal ages, before the reformation; and in this 
church, was an image of the Madonna, with the delusive 
inscription, Mater Jesu consolatrix afflictorum. 

From Deutz, the view of Cologne, with its numerous 
towers, and spires, and the vast unfinished mass of the 
cathedral, is very striking. This church is a colossal 
fragment of the spiritual ambition of Romanism. It was 
intended to have two towers, each five hundred feet high, 
one of which, of enormous breadth, is built to about half 
that elevation. The height of the choir is unusual; and 
the effect, produced by the immense, unwieldy scale, of the 
whole half-finished building, is that of a sublime and stu- 
pendous mouldering ruin. The original design was begun 
in 1248 ; but only the choir, and the chapels surrounding 
it, have ever been completed. The interior is supported by 
about one hundred columns ; some of which are ten feet in 
diameter. The unfinished part has a wooden ceiling, and 
is low ; but, the effect of the lofty choir, viewed from the 
east, on the outside, is gorgeous in the extreme. It would 
be tedious to describe this pillared, vaulted wilderness, 
which now again re-echoes with the sound of the work- 
men. Its style is highly ornamental ; and, among the ob- 
jects of curiosity it contains, are the splendid altar table; 
the gigantic candelabra; the beautiful statues ; the magni- 
ficent monuments ; the superb stained windows ; the 
picture of the adoration of the Magi, by Philip Kalf, in 
1406; the tapestry of the choir; the silver coffin of St 
Engelbert; and, especially, the tomb believed by the Ca- 
tholics to contain the bones of the Three MagL 

This chapel of the Three Kings, as it is called, is of 
marble, in the Ionic style. Before the French revolution, 
the skulls, adorned with crowns of gold, and with precious 
stones, were seen through a golden grating; and the shrine 
containing them, was one blaze of the most costly precious 
stones, so as to dazzle and surprise the beholder. What 
was lost during the period of revolutionary confusion, 
either by being made the spoil of war, or the prey of pri- 
vate cupidity, has since been, as far as possible, imitated 
in gilt metals, enamel, and the like ; and many precious 
stones have been given, by the inhabitants of Cologne. 
The presumed possession of the Magi, conferred great 
celebrity on this city, for ages: and . ' the Three Kings of 
Cologne,' attracted multitudes of pilgrims, from all parts 



70 COLOGNE. 

of Christendom. Romish tradition determined the number, 
and assigned the names of the men of the east ; and the 
wealth of devotees formed the letters of the words Gaspar, 
Melchior, and Balthasar, on the lid of their shrine in 
rubies. 

In this town, the eagerness of commissioners, offering 
their services to the traveller, amounts to a real annoyance. 
It was difficult to take a single step, in the street, without 
being assailed by a number of persons at once, all con- 
tending for the office of conducting you about the town. 
A young lad whom we engaged, was severely beaten, out 
of mere jealouay, by a fellow who thought he ought to have 
been employed himself; and it was not easy to rescue the 
poor boy from his vengeance. The language spoken here, 
is the Piatt Deutsch ; which is as bad, to one who has 
learned some pure German, as the dialect of some parts of 
England would be to a Frenchman who has learned to 
speak English. 

This town has been called a 'second Rome,' as the seat 
of popish superstition; but many of its churches, which 
are said to have once amounted to two hundred and sixty, 
have gone to decay. St. Cunibert's is partly in ruins ; 
and is now shut up. The church of the Jesuits is, as usual 
highly ornamented ; and has a college of the order, a very 
large building, exactly opposite to it. The church of St. 
Ursula is famous for containing what are said to be the 
skulls of the eleven thousand noble British virgins, who 
accompanied St. Ursula, in her voyage from Britain to 
Bretagne, to join their bethrothed lords ; but the vessels 
were somehow, says the legend, wrecked in the Rhine, 
and the ladies all took the veil, and founded the convent of 
St. Ursula : they were afterwards martyred. The skulls 
are seen arranged in rows, in glass cases, all along the 
upper parts of the church. 

Some are of opinion, that this whole story has arisen 
from a numerical blunder of some careless transcriber of 
a Romish legend : an inhabitant of Cologne, however, was 
once obliged to fly the city, for daring to dispute the 
humanity of some of these craniums. Each one is covered 
with a sort of silk ; and they were ah formerly adorned 
with precious stones. In the sacristy, we were shown the 
skull of St. Ursula herself, and those of some other illus- 
trious personages ; and among other equally valuable 
curiosities, was one of the water-pots that were used at the 
marriage of Cana in Galilee ! 

We ventured to ask the man who showed us these ex- 
traordinary objects, whether he really believed the truth of 
all this ? He answered with considerable naivety that the 



THE RHINE. 71 

fact was, his father was the proper keeper of the church ; 
but, he was so old as to be almost imcapable of discharg- 
ing his duty, so that he himself was obliged to officiate. I 
pressed him to say, whether he thought this was the real 
water pot, and whether he considered that the tales the 
priests tell the people, about the miracles of the saints, and 
the relics, are true? His reply was full of ingenuity: he 
did not answer the question directly, but said that the 
priests, and the people, had been differently situated from 
himself; and, that he had seen a great deal more of the 
world, than they, having travelled a good deal. On being 
asked, c do you think the priests believe it all themselves V 
he replied that it was possible they did ; but he was 
evidently a young man of too much intelligence to digest 
all that had been told him, though it is no wonder he was 
unwilling to say much on the subject. The priests declare 
that when the church was formerly destroyed by fire, these 
skulls were all miraculously preserved. 

The church of St. Gereon is a very interesting place, 
with a splendid cupola: the lower part of the tower is said 
to have been built by the Romans. Here, are more skulls : 
these belong to St. Gereon, and his Moorish warriors, who 
are said to have suffered martyrdom, to the number of 
nine hundred, for refusing to worship the pagan idols. In 
our walks, we passed the house where Rubens was born; 
and that in which Maria de Medicis died, wife of Henry 
IV. of France, and mother of his successor Louis XIII. 
In the church of St. Peter, the painting of the crucifixion 
of that apostle, by Rubens, and a copy of it by a man of 
Cologne, were shown to us. The original is two hundred 
years old, and is the last, and considered, here, the best of 
Rubens's pieces. There is something appalling in the ex- 
pression of the countenance, gorged with blood, the head 
being downwards; and the picture leaves a strong im- 
pression on the imagination. 

Anxious to enjoy the scenery of the Rhine, we left Co- 
logne for Bonn, by the Staclt Maintz steam-vessel, with a 
great many other passengers, a large portion of whom 
were English. The newspapers on board, contained the 
official account of the truly diabolical attempt of Fieschi 
to assassinate Louis Philippe ; which, for some time, formed 
an absorbing topic of conversation. We had previously 
heard this news at Cologne, where it produced a great 
sensation. " m . 

A band of music, conducted m the scientific German 
style, accompanied us up the stream ; and the refreshing 
breeze of a lovely morning, rustled in the foliage of the 
banks of this most romantic, and most historical of rivers. 



72 THE CATHEDRAL* 

Cologne, with its shipping, its numerous spires, and its 
dark basaltic wall, lay stretched along the western shore \ 
and the river opened to our view, lined with rows of trees 5 
and bordered with numerous peaceful villages ; while the 
crosses, erected near the water's edge, testified that the 
dominion of Romanism still extended itself, and claimed 
to plant its symbols in the vestibule of some of the love- 
liest scenes in the creation. For here begin to develope 
themselves those enchanting views, which form one per- 
petual, and ever-changing kaleidoscope of beauty and 
grandeur, from near Cologne to Maintz; and which in- 
crease in their power to arrest the imagination as you 
advance toward the latter city, along the windings of this 
queen of rivers ; forming, altogether, a series of scenes not 
to be paralleled in any part of the world. 

As we proceeded, the seven mountains came imposingly 
before us, one of which bears the name of Drachenfels, or 
Dragon-Rock; in allusion to one of those ancient legends, 
with which this region so much abounds. We reached 
Bonn about eleven, after greatly admiring the delightful 
view of it from the river ; but, in the place itself, we were 
somewhat disappointed ; partly, perhaps, from having 
heard so much in praise of it. The walks, however, in the 
vicinity, we soon found answering to their eulogy, and re- 
deeming the narrowness of the streets. The view of the 
seven mountains from the terrace which overlooks the 
Rhine, is particularly fine. We established ourselves at 
the Gasthof Zum Sterne, or Star Hotel, in the market- 
place, which is spacious, and contains a fountain, with an 
inscription in honour of Frederick Maximilian, the last 
elector of Cologne. 

The Cathedral is agreeably situated, in an open area; 
and the exterior has a more pleasing effect than the inte- 
rior. It contains a number of relics, in glass cases, as at 
Cologne. The stained windows are brilliant, but of small 
dimensions. The most striking object in the church is 
the bronze statue of the Empress Helena, mother of Con- 
stantine the Great. There are also the tomb of some 
bishop; and two small marble bas-reliefs, representing the 
birth and baptism of Jesus, which appeared very beauti- 
fully executed. The Virgin is as popular here, as else- 
where ; and in this church is one of those exhibitions of 
bad taste, which are frequent in these parts — a sitting 
figure of Mary, with a dead Christ laying in her lap, as 
large as life, on which she is gazing with an air of despon- 
dency. There is, on the whole, an aspect of poverty about 
this cathedral. The people here, as at Aix, and Cologne, 
joined aloud in the responses, and there appeared to be 



the monk's vault. 73 

much more music and chanting in the churches of this 
part of Germany, than in those of Belgium. In another 
church, a poor little girl was confessing to the priest; who, 
when she had finished, lifted up his hands with a very de- 
vout air, and seemed, as usual, to be pronouncing forgive- 
ness. We noticed, on some occasions, that the priest 
covered his face with a handkerchief, while receiving the 
confession. How appropriate to such scenes, the passage 
of scripture, which so accurately describes this inquisito- 
rial inspection of conscience, and this daring presumption, 
in professing to pardon sin ! — he, as God, sitteth in the tem- 
ple of God, showing himself that he is God* 

On the Saturday afternoon, the splendid funeral pro- 
cession of a soldier took place, with a cavalcade of horse- 
men, banners, and funereal music: the scene was im- 
pressive. The Protestant clergyman who officiated, wore 
a gown and a square velvet cap. The burial-place is 
common to Protestants and Catholics. The evening in- 
vited a walk to the chateau of Popplesdorf, which is 
situated at the end of a wide avenue of chesnut-trees, 
forming a delightful public promenade, probably the greater 
part of a miteTin length. The building is now devoted to 
science, as a museum. The fine collection of natural his- 
tory and fossils, and the beautiful grotto-room, well de- 
serve the walk from Bonn, This museum is connected 
with the University. 

In the little church of Popplesdorf, were some people 
saying prayers aloud, without a priest, as is not unusual. 
The road led forward to Kreutzberg, a place of pilgrim- 
age, and the site of an old monastery, with a church on 
the summit of a beautifully verdant, and wooded hill. 
Here were three English gentlemen, who had also walked 
from Bonn. It was so dark by this time, that we thought 
our chance of seeing the vault was over: however,, we 
soon found the aged sexton, who gave us each a light; 
and we entered the church to view the remains of the 
monks, which are said to be miraculously preserved. In 
the middle of the edifice, over the gloom of which the can- 
dles threw but a feeble ray, was a large figure of the Vir- 
gin, in a white dress, on an altar : at her feet was a trap- 
door, leading into the catacombs ; where, on descending, 
we saw the bodies of twenty-eight monks, lying in their 
coffins, in the dresses of their order. According to our 
guide, some of these remains are centuries old. He 
pointed to one, who, as he said, was the last who had died, 
whom he well knew, and who had been the gardener of 

* 2 These, ii. 4. 
V ^L. vi. 7 



74 BONN-. 

the monastery. The bodies were in different stages ol 
decay,- some having their faces perfect skeletons, and in 
part fallen in : the flesh of the legs of others, still yielded 
a little to the touch. It was a ghastly sight, but there was 
no unpleasant effluvium whatever. The bodies are ar- 
ranged, fourteen on each side, in a vault just large enough 
to hold them : the spectacle was impressive and humili- 
ating. 

We next ascended to the back of the high altar ; from 
which a wide and superb marble staircase leads down to 
the front of the church. More of miracle clings to this 
flight of steps, than to the poor monks, whosd bodies look 
so grim and ghastly in the vault: it is considered so holy 
that visitors are not allowed to walk on it, but are obliged 
to descend by its side. It is, as we were given to under- 
stand, none other than the identical staircase belonging to 
Pilate's judgment-hall, at Jerusalem, trodden by our Sa- 
viour after his scourging! It is affirmed to have been 
taken, first to Rome, and by some especial good fortune, 
brought hither. What makes it so much an object of re- 
verence is, that the blood of Jesus is said to have fallen on 
it in several places, which are indicated by little circular 
pieces of brass, let into the stone, representing a number 
of drops clotted together. This holy relic is also enriched 
further, by having many bones of saints inlaid in the beau- 
tifully-coloured marble. After this, and the relics of Aix 
and Cologne, and the eye of St. Odilia, and its miracles, 
at Liege, together with the numerouse pieces of the true 
cross — of which Luther said there was enough to make a 
man of war — the traveller feels almost prepared to see 
some of the 'bottled darkness' of the land of Egypt, or 
the sword which Balaam ' wished for'' to smite the ass ! 

There was service in the church of the Jesuits, at Bonn, 
early on the Sunday morning. It had been handsomely 
repaired and beautified, and a priest was preaching with 
animation to a very crowded audience on the public wor- 
ship of God, and saying many very good things, mingled, 
as might be anticipated, with superstitious allusions to 
the building itself, and eulogies of the artists and work- 
men who had been employed. In the afternoon, we went 
to the Protestant church, formerly the chapel of the electo- 
ral palace, a small but handsome building. At the end is 
a raised altar, above which is placed the pulpit. On the 
sounding-board is a cross ; and, on the altar, another, with 
an image of Christ upon it : on each side was placed a 
candle, not lighted. It is evident that Protestantism, here, 
is conformed, in some measure, to the prejudices of the 
Romanists. The minister came in after the people had 



THE UNIVERSITY. 75 

been some time singing the Liturgy ; he turned his face to 
the altar, and prayed privately. He afterwards catechised 
a number of children and young people ; and baptized an 
infant at the font, which stood before the pulpit. This rite 
was performed not by sprinkling, or pouring the water, 
but by dipping his hand in it three times, and drawing his 
fingers, each time, across the forehead of the child. There 
was no sermon ; the only time for general public worship 
being nine o'clock in the morning. 

Many of the shops were open during the day, and it did 
not appear to be generally much regarded. The latter 
part of the sabbath, especially, seems to be very little con- 
secrated on the continent, even in towns where Protestant- 
ism lifts its head. In the evening, the students of the 
University went in procession to Godesburg, a romantic 
spot in the neighbourhood. This is an annual custom, on 
the eve of the King of Prussia's natal-day. They passed 
by our inn, mostly armed with pipes, in a number of open 
carriages — while a band of music paraded the market- 
place. The town appeared to be all excitement 5 and the 
Sabbath openly converted into a holiday. 

The former electoral palace at Bonn is now the Univer- 
sity ; and is a noble structure, of great extent, with a very 
handsome front towards the park. In the hall for con- 
ferring degrees are some allegorical fresco paintings, re- 
presenting Theology, Philosophy, and Jurisprudence. In 
consequence of the royal birth-day, there were no lectures 
and we did not see the museum, nor the library, which 
contains upwards of sixty thousand volumes, brought from 
the suppressed University of Cologne. 

The University of Bonn was founded by the King of 
Prussia, in 1818; and soon rose to an eminent position 
among the German institutions. In 1829, the students 
amounted to a thousand; at present there are said to be 
nearly eight hundred: they reside about the town. There 
is here a Protestant and a Catholic faculty of theology, as 
the population on the Prussian borders of the Rhine is 
mixed. A few years ago, the Catholic theological students 
were the more numerous: theology and law eacfi claimed 
one third of the whole united body; and the faculties of 
philosophy and medicine shared between them the remain- 
ing third, in nearly equal parts. The religious sentiments 
of several of the professors are decidedly evangelical. 

At the gate of the University next the town, were several 
students smoking" the long pipe. In their general appear- 
ance, it was not difficult to detect a certain untamed, ro- 
mantic air to which fancy perhaps might lend exaggera- 
tion — influenced by all that is said of the genuine Teutonic 



76 BONN. 

student — the intellectual Proteus, who can so readily alter- 
nate between that laborious and intense application, termed^ 
in some places, ochsen, or acting the ox, and those ebulli- 
tions of boisterous feeling which lead him to pour out 
deep and stormy libations to the freedom of Germany, to 
celebrate the orgies of some mystic rite, understood only 
by the initiated, or to seek renown in some wild freak, or 
even by measuring rapiers with an antagonist. 

The real German student, as he has been, may be de- 
scribed as somewhat resembling, in his general appear- 
ance, the portraits we sometimes see of poets : his luxuriant 
locks disdaining the artificial aid of the tonsor, are given 
to the winds, his neck is bare as those of his rough an- 
cestors, who drove their scythe-chariots among the Roman 
legions, and his whole appearance, to which his musta- 
chios add a degree of fierceness, is calculated to strike 
the imagination ; and it is easy to believe that a company 
of such wild and ardent Burschen might not limit their 
frolics to the harmless joke of making the rocks of Lurlei, 
on the Rhine, respond the last two syllables of the ques- 
tion — Wer ist der Bur germeister von Oberwesel?* 

It is not to be supposed, however, that such an undis- 
ciplined and enthusiastic being is a prototype of the gene- 
ral mass of German students — he is only to be numbered 
among those who, at Gottingen, Jena, and other places, 
have sometimes converted the calm atmosphere of the 
academic seat into an element of political storms, and 
who have given ample employment to the utmost vigilance 
of the government, in repressing violence. Some of the 
Universities have, at times, been seriously injured by these 
disturbances ; but the increased demand for high attain- 
ments, enforced, within these few years, by the govern- 
ment—which in the German states controls all education 
— and the new principle of placing Universities in large 
and influential cities, where the students are lost in the 
crowd, cannot fail, ultimately, to check the spirit of in- 
subordination, and visionary independence. 

- We staid at Bonn till the arrival of the steamer from 
Cologne, on the Monday ; and in the mean time, endea- 
voured to obtain some German tracts, for distribution 
along the road ; but we could not succeed. Some boys, 
on the public walk which overlooks the Rhine, were sing- 
ing the tune of our national anthem, in honour of his 
Prussian majesty, who seems here to be very popular: 
busts of him are continually to be seen, and, on this occa- 

* Who is the Burgomaster of Oberwesel? Esel is the German for ass. 
It is said this frolic was complained of at Berlin. 



THE RHINE. ; Jf 

sion, the newspapers contained poems in honour of him. 
The beggars seem to take things very easily in this place, 
and may, occasionally, be seen asking alms, with very fair 
German pipes in their mouths. The boat arrived from 
Cologne, streaming with banners, and guns were fired 
towards and from the shore. We left Bonn about eleven, 
having had very comfortable apartments ; furnished, as 
usual, with huge earthenware stoves. Notwithstanding 
the distance, we seemed to carry England with us ; for, 
out of sixty persons, who sat down to dinner at the Star 
hotel, about half were English. 



LETTER VIL 

Description of the Rhine, from Bonn to Coblentz. Drachenfels. Godes- 
burg. Nonnenwerth. Rolandseck. Oberwinter. Unkel. Remagen. 
Apollmarisb^rg. Erpel. Okkenfels. Linz. Sinzig. Argenfels. Breisig. 
Rheineck. Hammerstein. Leutesdorf. Andernach. Floating Bridges. 
Rafts. Weisaenthurm. Neuwied. Engers. Ehrenbreitstein. Cob- 
lentz. The Rhine from Coblentz to Mainz. Tombieson's Views. 
Ober-lahnstein. Marksberg. Boppart. St. Goar. Oberwesel. Caub. 
Bacharach. Bingen. Ellfeld. Cassel. Maintz. Drusus Germanicus. 
Roman Antiquities. Cathedral. 

My dear Friend, — It would be vain to attempt a full delinea- 
tion of the oeauties of the Rhine; — which, to be appreciated, 
must be seen. We were now on board the Freiderich Wil- 
helm, which was gaily decorated with a profusion of flags, in 
honor of the king; and salutes were fired and returned all 
along the river. — For some time, the Drachenfels, and its sister 
hills, with their rugged summits, were the most interesting ob- 
jects. Then the castle of Godesburg, rising from a command- 
ing height, out of the wood and verdure that embosom it, 
pointed as far backward in the shades of time, as the days of 
Roman glory. The width of the Rhine appeared to vary but 
little, excepting, perhaps, where islands divide its waters ; but 
the diversity of the scenery is endless. Steep cliffs, — some- 
times bare, — sometimes covered with foliage, or with vines, 
form the borders ; and the river frequently takes a sweep ; and 
is enclosed by abrupt mountains, — whose dark solemn forms, 
and crowning ruins, are impressively reflected in the stream, 
as shadows of the past. 

The attention is continually kept alive by the rapid suc- 
cession, and the delightful blending, of the «rand, the beauti- 
ful, and the romantic. The numerous sloping vineyards which 
cover the mountains, on both sides of the river, are a striking 
7* 



78 THE RHINE. 

example of unwearied labor; and testify to the immense 
quantity of Rhenish wine, that is here produced. The many 
villages which line the banks, with their spires and antique 
buildings, give a human air to scenes which would, otherwise, 
be characterized by silent loneliness ; and on which some 
hoary remnant of the age of chivalry often frowns from its 
rocky throne. 

Above, the frequent feudal towers, 
Through green leaves lift their walls of gray, 
And many a rock which steeply lowers, 
And noble arch in proud decay, 
Look o'er this vale of vintage bowers. 
The river nobly foams and flows, 
The charm of this enchanted ground, 
And all its thousand turns disclose 
Some fresher beauty varying round. 

Among innumerable views, on which we might have lin- 
gered in admiration for hours, were — that which lakes in the 
island of Nonnenwerth, with its convent — and the ruin-crown- 
ed mountains of Rolandseck, and Drachenfels ; — the splendid 
panorama, beyond Ober- Winter; — the town of Unkel, en- 
vironed with beauty, on the left ;* — a little farther, on the 
right, Renagen, — and, enthroned on a commanding height, the 
priory of Afollinarisberg ;— -Erfel, with its back-ground of 
basaltic rock ; the ruins on mount Okkenfels, the picturesque 
little city of Linz — all three on the left — and, on the opposite 
side, the solid spire of Sinzig. The scenes continued exceed- 
ingly beautiful, on both sides of the river, to Andernach : on 
the left, were lovely villages, rocky vine-clad mountains, and 
the castle of Argenfels ; — on the luxurious bank on the right 
side, the town of Breisig; — arid in the back-ground, the castle 
of Rheineck, magnificently seated on the summit of a steep 
and projecting rock, — and remaining visible, as the prominent 
object, in several changing scenes of loveliness and grandeur. 

Farther up the stream, on the left side, and seen from afar, 
were the ruins of the extensive castle of Hammerstein, — cele- 
brated in the annals of the German empire, like innumerable 
other strongholds, which, in this region of chivalry and war, 
have been connected — either with the exile of monarchs, — the 
cruelty of tyrants, — the tyranny of the papal power, — the 
feudal conflicts of marauding chieftains,— -or the tale of ro- 
mance. Having passed other huge crags, and an islet or two, 
we obtained a lovely view, near Leutesdorf, by looking back 
upon the river, which is here bordered, on each side, by the 

* As the passage from Cologne to Maintz is against the stream, the 
places spoken of as being on the left side, are of course on the right bank 
of the river, and vice versa; 



THE RHINE. 79 

most picturesque rocks and mountains, with Sinzig in the back- 
ground. Andernach, the ancient Antonacum, probably the 
oldest city on tho Rhine, and a military station of Drusus 
Germanicus, the Roman general, — now presented its solemn, 
and dusky towers, on the right, in a plain, surrounded by dark 
basaltic mountains ; and we regretted that time did not allow 
of our landing, to give to its interesting ruins a nearer inspec- 
tion. 

On no day did the German dinner-courses appear more te- 
dious than on this. Much as the Rhenish air may tend to 
sharpen the appetite, it was imprisonment to remain in the 
cabin, while the glories of the Rhine, containing Jill that is 
picturesque in nature, and interesting in the associations of 
history and romance, were passing, in one continued panora- 
ma, on each side of us; and many of the company, unwilling 
to wait for the successive fragments of cookery, which made 
their appearance at rather distant intervals, alternately paid 
their respects to the beauties of nature, and to the necessities 
of the animal: some, I believe, were enthusiastic enough to 
dispense with their dinners. 

The curious large ferry-barges, like covered floating bridg- 
es, on which a great many people, or cattle, can be conveyed 
at one time ; — and the immense rafts of timber which we met 
this day, gliding down the stream, — occasionally gave the 
river a very animated appearance. One of these rafts had a 
nicely-constructed hut on it, bearing a flag in honor of King 
Friederich Wilhelm ; and the loyal salutes that were some- 
times fired from the shore, and from the vessel, produced re- 
verberations among the rocks, with an exceedingly fine effect. 
A little beyond the neat and pleasant-looking town of Neu- 
wied, but on the right, or opposite side ot the river, — we 
passed the village of Weissethurm, near which place, tradition 
says, Julius Caesar constructed the wooden bridge, over which 
he crossed from Gaul into Germany, and which he describes 
in the fourth book of the Gallic War. 

Beyond Neuwied, the country near the Rhine became flat, 
the valley being wider, and the hills removed to a distance, — 
while a luxuriant landscape lay between. At Engers, — the 
castle of which is now the summer residence of ihe Prince of 
Nassau Weilberg, — the scenery again approaches the banks 
of the river, especially on this — the right side ; but though the 
country is here rich and hilly, it becomes less striking. At 
length, after passing numerous beautiful vineyards, some villa- 
ges, and another picturesque ruin or two, the river takes a 
sweep, and the view changes into a truly magnificent panora- 
ma, formed by the towers and pinnacles of Coblentz resting 
on the bosom* of the water, — the distant heights and moun- 
tains, — and, the huge rock of Ehrenbreitstein, with its vast 



80 THE RHINE. COBLENTZ, 

crown of fortifications, threatening the city, as it were, from 
the opposite shore, and seeming to keep it in awe. The view 
of this grand fortress is magnificent and imposing in the ex- 
treme. 

We arrived at Coblentz between six and seven in the even- 
ing, having enjoyed a very fine day for the scenery of the 
Rhine. We took up our abode at the Three Swiss, near the 
bridge of boats ; and as the evening portended rain, no time 
was lost in crossing the river, which is here nearly five hun- 
dred feet wide, to Ehrenbreitstein. It is situated in the 
Thai, or valley of Ehrenbreitstein, and has been at various 
periods the scene of war, and of the sufferings which follow 
in its train — especially during the convulsions attending the 
Republican times of France. When this fortress was block- 
aded, for the fourth time, in 1797, by the French, the flesh of 
horses and cats was sola at a high price. At the peace of Lune- 
ville, towers, walls, and works, — were all blown up, and de- 
stroyed in hideous ruin ; but since 1816, the fortifications have 
been restored by Prussia, and the place is now called Fort 
William in honor of the king: its original name, — The Broad 
Stone of ffonor,— seems to have some allusion to the prac- 
tices of chivalry. 

It may be described as a perpendicular mountain converted 
into a gigantic fortress, rising broadly and majestically domi- 
nant, from its rocky base, to the height of nearly eight hun- 
dred feet above the river, with an air of absolute command, 
as though it would frown into the dust the city below, — which 
it could indeed soon annihilate by means of its tremendous 
batteries. It has an appearance of impregnable strength, 
and will accommodate, if necessary, many thousands of sol- 
diers. The ascent to the summit, is long and steep, and the 
prospect it commands, when fully illuminated by the sun, 
must be glorious, and is considered one of the finest on the 
banks of the Rhine. The view of this scene, just as the shades 
ot evening w^re beginning to throw over it a quiet solemnity, 
was most magnificent and impressive, consisting of the whole 
town of Coblentz, situated at the junction of the Rhine and 
the Moselle;* the calm, divergent course of the two rivers, 
to a considerable distance, — the vine-planted heights of Char- 
treuse, — an immense plain, scattered with twenty or thirty 
towns and villages, — and a diversified country for many 
leagues around. 

A hasty survey of the handsome town of Coblentz, in the 
morning, previously to our embarking on the river, was all 
that time allowed. The finest street appeared to be the Rhem- 
thor, or Rhine-gate-street; and the Place d'armes, planted 

* Celebrated by Ausronius in along poem.— Vide Id±ll; X. 



THE RHINE. 81 

with linden trees, is an agreeable square. The churches were 
already open, at half-past five in the morning; — such are the 
early devotional habits of the Catholics. The church of the 
Virgin, is remarkable tor its two lofty and majestic steeples, 
which are built with successive stories, in rather an uncom- 
mon manner. The church of St. Kastor was also open, and 
full of people ; to whom one priest was officiating, kneeling in 
the middle aisle, — while another was standing at the door of 
his confessional, in the attitude of prayer : the voices of the 
congregation rose with the tones of the organ, and their seri- 
ous aspect was worthy of a better system of religion. 

On leaving Coblentz for Maintz, we were much struck with 
the grand effect of Ehrenbreitstein. Shortly after losing sight 
of the city, — the view opened charmingly, with a great num- 
ber of castles and villages, — sometimes on one, — and some- 
times on the other bank of the river ; and a sail of an hour 
or two brought us to mountains bare of trees, but covered with 
vineyards. These plantations grow on terraces, made with 
great labor, on every part of the mountains where they can 
be formed. We thought the scenery increasingly interesting, 
— even surpassing that of the previous day, though we were 
then enjoying our first impression of the Rhine. The views, 
however, appeared still more striking than before, and realised 
all that we had ever heard of this region of beauty. 

The ancient castles, now in ruins, crowning the command- 
ing summits of lofty rocks, seemed the chroniclers of a period 
far remote ; and the occasional Roman remains that were 
pointed out to us carried the imagination still farther back in- 
to the darkness of time. The perpetual marks of superstition 
which line the banks, in the torm of little chapels, — stations, 
crosses, and the like, — still reminded us of the gigantic domin- 
ion of popery ; which had presented its memorials from the 
moment of our landing on the continent, and had accompan- 
ied us at every step : often, on the vessel .approaching nearer 
than usual to the shore, little beggars were heard imploring, 
by every plea that was sacred in the Romish religion, that 
alms might be thrown to them. The kindness of a party on 
board, who had a copy of Tombleson's • Views on the Rhine,' 
gave us an excellent opportunity of comparing the actual 
scenery with the representation. In every instance, we were 
gratified to find how faithfully true the pictures were to nature 
and reality. At first, we sometimes fancied there was a want 
of exact resemblance, but soon found that an altered position 
brought as to the right point of view. If, in any case, the 
general impression was not obtained from the pic:ure, this was 
owing to its not being large enough to take in more than one 
or two striking objects, where the tout ensemble was required 
for the full effect. The scenes of this day were exceedingly 



82 THE RHINE. 

varied, and filled the mind with the most interesting associa- 
tions. 

After passing the large and fertile island of Oberwerth, — 
among innumerable beauties, the river Lahn presented itself 
on our left, pouring into the giant stream, its tributary waters, 
the village of Lahnstein, being at their confluence; while 
Lahneck Castle, in ruins, and the adjacent mountains, added 
a picturesque charm to the scene. Next came into view the 
town of Ober-Lahnstein, in a delightful situation, opposite 
the dark ruined pile of Stolzenfels, which is seated on a com- 
manding rock on the right ; and farther on, on the other side, 
the castle ot Marksburg crowned its bold rocky base. The 
Rhine now takes a wide sweep to the right ; and the lovely 
combination of terraced vineyards, embowering trees, luxuri- 
ant fields, human habitations, and fertile orchards and gar- 
dens — gives place to scenes of more decided wildness, and of 
romantic gloom. A narrow pass of dark, slaty rocks, which 
emerge abruptly from the confined stream, shuts in the pros- 
pect ; and throws a solemn and awful shade, deep into the bo- 
som of the water ; — while the reign of solitude and silence 
seemed, as it were, disturbed and outraged by the rush of the 
vessel ; — till, at another bend, the stream attained its former 
breadth, and the city of Boppart, grey with time, embosomed 
in foliage, and having a back ground of mountains, presented 
its twin spires to our view. 

Another turn disclosed, on the left, the vine-planted rocks of 
Liebenfels and Sternenberg, called the 'Brothers ;' on which 
are majestically seated the numerous towers of two ruined 
feudal castles, celebrated as the locality of a romantic legend, 
of the time of the crusades, relating to the attachment of two 
rival brothers to the same fair lady. Indeed, here every ruin 
has its history, and there is always some tale of chivalry con- 
nected with it ; — so that if the world could be benefited and 
improved by romance and sentimentalism, materials might be 
found in abundance, all along the storied borders of the Rhine ; 
and it is easy, while in these alassic regions, to feel how much 
their vicinity may have had its effect on some departments of 
the literature of Germany. 

Passing the picturesque scenery of Hirzenach, and the 
small shrubby island of Werth, — we approached the fine ru- 
ins of Thurmberg, on a mountain, at the base of which lies 
the delightfully-situated village of Welmich: — then, on the 
right, appeared the fortifications of Rheinfels, towering domi- 
nant from the water, like an Ehrenbreitstein in ruins ; with a 
lovely view, in front, of St. Goar, under the heights ; and, on 
the left, the beautiful ruins of Katze embosomed in a moun- 
tain, below which is St. Goarhausen. The view about this 
spot is perfectly enchanting, having all the appearance of a 



THE RHINE. 83 

most lovely lake, bordered with foliage, rocky masses, and 
picturesque towns, with their spires and towers ; the whole 
being enclosed by an amphitheatre of mountains. 

We now began to look out for the rocks which, from near 
this place to Mayence, are frequently seen projecting several 
feet above the water. Beyond St. Goar, the Rhine becomes 
confined in a sort of defile ; rocks lie in the bed of the river, 
— and by the rush of the water against them, whirlpools are 
produced. The ruggedness of the crags, and the impetuosity 
of the stream, gives a wild aspect to the scene; and, to an 
unskilful pilot, there would be real danger; for the trunks of 
large tress are sometimes swallowed up in the vortex. The 
river now winds round the Lurley fels, a basaltic rock, re- 
markable for its echo ; to awaken which a gun was fired, and 
a horn blown ; and the reports were, several times, repeated 
from rock to rock. 

Between this spot and the romantic town of Oberwesel, 
with its mountain-background — bearing the ruined towers of 
Schonberg, — St. Goar is said to have dwelt, while employed 
in converting the fishermen and peasantry of the Rhine to 
Christianity. In the distance, on the left, is seen the castle of 
Gutenfels, rising in masses from the river. But from this point 
so many objects began to thicken upon us, that it would be te- 
dious to attempt t:ie description. Beyond the Lurley-fels, 
seven rocks lie in the river, called the Jungfrauen, or virgins ; 
respecting whom romance furnishes another legendary story. 
Farther on, at Caub, near the embattled ruins of Gutenfels, is 
one of the most singular objects in the whole voyage, the cas- 
tle of Pfulz, built on a small rock, in the midst of the river ; 
from which its sombre walls emerge, crowned with a central 
tower, and a number of surrounding pinnacles, — to tell the 
tale of feudal dominion ; for this building was erected by a 
Count Palatine of the Rhine, as a toll-house, and subsequently 
became the scene of the prisoner's dungeon. It was at this 
spot that the Russians and Prussians, under Blucher, crossed 
the river, in 1814. 

The views still continued to present unnumbered beauties ; 
and the towers of the ancient town of Bacharach were solemn- 
ly reflected from the bosom of the water, with the ruins of 
Stalech castle on the adjacent rock ; and, below, was the 
beautiful Gothic shell of the ruined chapel of St. Werner, — 
who is said to have been here scourged to death by the Jews, 
in 1287. Bacharach is thought to resemble Jerusalem, on a 
small scale, both in its situation and style of building: it is 
famous for the excellent wines of its neighborhood, and is said 
to have derived its name from ara Bacchi ; an altar having 
been found here, supposed to have been erected to Bacchus by 
the Romans. 



84 THE EHINE. 

The borders of the river continue exquisitely picturesque* 
graced with numerous villages, merging into deep ravines, or 
relieved by ruin-crowned hills, of rock, and foliage : — in short, 
the whole scenery from Cobientz to Bingen is one grand pa- 
norama of enchantment, and holds the imagination as in a 
spell. On leaving Bacharach, the objects seemed to crowd on 
us in more rapid succession than ever ; and the villages, and 
rich vineyards, were either surmounted, or interspersed, with 
the perpetual remnants of departed ages, in the ruins of Hol- 
lengen, on the left ;— and on the opposite side, those of Furs- 
ten berg, Heimburg, Sonneck, Falkenburg, Rheinstein, and 
Bauzberg ; each ruin seeming to have a character of its own, 
— even their names being frequently expressive, — and all be- 
ing memorials of the marauding knights, the barunial hospi- 
tality, the feudal wars, the romantic tales, or the imperial Ger- 
man politics, of the respective times, when these embattled 
mansions flourished in their pride and glory. 

Rheinstein is almost the only exception to the general ap- 
pearance of wreck ; — this castle, having, within these few years, 
been renovated in the ancient style, for the summer residence 
of Prince Frederic of Prussia. It looks down upon the Rhine 
with a romantic and magnificent effect, and serves to give life 
and reality to the image of remote ages, — this castle mansion 
being powerfully contrasted with the general scene of dis- 
mantled and mouldering ruins. 

The beautiful stripes of vineyard which frequently adorn 
this fairy land, present an exhibition of quiet and laborious in- 
dustry ; a grateful testimony that however the olden days may 
adorn the pages of poetry and story, they are now gone by ; 
and that the inhabitants of this region are no longer the victims 
of conflicts between hostile families, or petty tyrants frowning 
mutual defiance, each in his own castle, from rock to rock. 
Yet these hoary ruins are invested with a kind of solemn 
witchery, — as they proudly enthrone themselves on high, amid 
almost every variety of mountain scenery, and cast their dark 
shadows on the stream, which lies expanded, often like a glassy 
mirror, in impressive silence below them ; they appear to em- 
body in themselves the history of the past, and the whole of 
this Elysian region, seems peopled with the sombre spectres 
of departed ages, — haunting a succession of gloomy and ro- 
mantic lakes, and telling the legends of a thousand years. 

A blending of all beauties ; streams and dells, 
Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, corn-field ; mountain, vine. 
And chiefless castles, breathing stern farewells 
From gray but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells. 

All tenantless, save to the crannying wind, 
Or holding dark communion with the cloud ; 
There was a day when they were young and proud. 



THE RHINE. 85 

Beneath these battlements, within those walls, 
Power dwelt amidst her passions ; in proud state 
Each robber chief upheld his armed halls, 
Doing his evil will, nor less elate 
Than mightier heroes of a longer date. 

In their baronial feuds and single fields 
What deeds of prowess unrewarded died ! 
Anc Love, which lent a blazon to their shields, 
Through all the marl of iron hearts would glide. 

What want these outlaws conquerors should have'? 
But history's purchased page to call them great? 
A wider space, an ornamented grave? 
Their hopes were no less warm, their souls were full as brave- : 

Before reaching Bingen, where the Rheingau, or district of 
the Rhine, commences, the river is again hemmed in by walls 
of gloomy rocks, which create another whirling eddy ; and 
here, the current ran so strongly against us, that we were 
obliged to have six track-horses, to aid the steam. The ele- 
vated ruined towers of Ehreniels were on the left ; and, on the 
other side, rose from the water, the tower called Maiisethurm, 
built originally as a toll and light-house. In this neighbor- 
hood lived an astrologer named Bartholomew of Holzhausen, 
whom Charles II. is said to have consulted respecting his des- 
tiny, when he was at Bingen during the Commonwealth. Bin- 
gen is one of the most interesting places on the Rhine, and rears 
its spires amidst beautiful scenery, at the point where the Nahe 
flows into it : across this river is a bridge, the piles and arches 
of which are Roman : there is also, here, a Roman tower. Be- 
hind the town, a lofty mountain is crested with the ruins of 
Klopp castle ; and nearly opposite, are the town of Riidesheim, 
and the picturesque ruins of the castle of Bromserberg. 

The country opens, near this spot, in a delightful manner, 
with a succession of the most luxuriant vineyards, the moun- 
tains being once more removed to a distance. The river also, 
here, expands into a greater stream, — being about three fur- 
longs wide, and continuing to Mayence, nearly of the same 
breadth, lined with villages and interspersed with islands of 
luxuriant verdure. The country discovers the greatest possi- 
ble cultivation : indeed, along the Rhine, vines seem to be made 
to grow almost everywhere ; terraces being frequently formed 
up to the very summits of the most rugged rocks and preci- 
pices. 

At Joannisberg, on the left, were pointed out to u. f s (he vine- 
yards of Prince Metternich, and the extensive palace of this 
celebrated diplomatist, on an estate given to him by the Em- 
peror of Austria, and occupying the site of an ancient priory. 
The Prince., we were informed, derives a great revenue from 

VOL. vi. 8 



86 MArrtxri. 

the "wine, which is reckoned the finest of the Rhenish varieties, 
and is sometimes sold at an enormous price. The Emperor, 
when he gave this domain to his minister, reserved a tithe of 
the produce for his own cellar. Among trie villages on the 
same side of the river, is Lange Winkel, where the Romans 
are said to have kept their wine stores for the army. We here 
passed another very large raft of timber gliding down the 
stream. These ingenious contrivances are sometimes from 
two to three hundred yards long, by twenty or five-and-twenty 
broad, and carry several hundred men, who are lodged in 
wooden huts, so that the rafts almost resemble floating towns. 

After leaving, on the left, the ruins situated on the vine-clad 
hill of Scharfenstein, and passing Ellfeld, another Roman 
town, — with the Taunus mountains in the distance, on our 
right, — we noticed Biberich, on the left, the magnificent palace 
of the Duke of Nassau. Between this place and Fort Monte- 
bello, at Cassel, are two lovely islands, called Peters Aue, and 
Ingelheimer Aue, — the word aue expressing their verdant, 
pasture-like appearance. On the right, Maintz rose beautifully 
from the ample flood ; and the luxuriant landscape, crowned 
with the many towers of the majestic cathedral, and the other 
steeples and buildings of the city, and relieved by the dark 
boundary of the distant hills, formed a rich and imposing 
scene. 

Maintz, or in French, Mayence, situated in one of the finest 
parts of Germany, is regarded as the most important town of 
the Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt. It is strongly fortified, and 
the works form a sort of semi-circle on the bank of the river. 
It contains about thirty thousand inhabitants, including the 
Prussian and Austrian garrison of several thousand men, who 
are here stationed, in the service of the German Confederation. 
There is at this place, as at Cologne, and Coblentz, a bridge 
of boats over the Rhine, in consequence of the rapidity of the 
stream : Bonaparte, however, intended to build one of stone. 
The river is here twelve hundred Rhenish feet, or about twelve 
hundred and twenty English feet in breadth ; and a line of 
mills, parallel to the bridge, just below it, has precisely the 
effect of a row of small houses on the bosom of the water. Not 
far from the city was another raft of immense extent, — the 
largest we had seen. On landing at Maintz, the traveller is 
obliged to give up his passport ; which is returned, on paying 
a fee of twelve kreutzers, or about fourpence. 

This city is rich in Roman ruins, and in the treasures of his- 
torical association. Here Drusus Germanicus built the fort 
called Magontiacum, which afterwards gave its name to the 
city ; — hither one of the legions that had been employed under 
Titus, at the destruction of Jerusalem, marched from Judea, 
to garrison the town ; and here may be seen some remains of 



MAINTZ. 87 

Charlemagne's bridge. By the formation of the Rhenish Hanse, 
or cor/federation of a hundred Rhenish towns, at this place, in 
1255, a decisive blow was struck against the banditti chiefs, 
who entrenched themselves in the mountain-castles on the 
borders of the Rhine. This city, also, was one of the princi- 
pal residences of the Minnesanger, — those romantic minstrel 
poets, who flourished in Germany in the middle ages, especi- 
ally under the sway of the house of Hohenstaufen, or the Sua- 
bian dynasty. 

We visited the Museum of Roman Antiquities, consisting of 
objects that have been found in the neighborhood ; and con- 
taining, it is said, the most complete collection, those in Italy 
excepted, of altars, votive stones, and other monuments of the 
Roman military dominion ; but the rooms in which these re- 
mains were shown, are quite unworthy of the exhibition. Some 
good ancient and modern pictures labored under a similar dis- 
advantage, being placed in a mean adjoining apartment. The 
time-worn monument erected, in the Roman period, in honor 
of Drusus, called Drusus* Stein, is on the ramparts, near Jacobs- 
berg, or Mount St. James. 

Maintz is one of the handsomest and best paved towns we 
had seen since we left Belgium: along the river side, is a de- 
lightful promenade. The Zeughaus, or arsenal, on the quay, 
Is a fine building; as is also the Hall of Justice. The Hotel de 
Hollamie is one of the most commodious inns we had met with : 
— it is lofty, square, and constructed of white stone ; — with 
every thing clean and comfortable within, and a noble view 
of the Rhine, and the adjacent country, from the upper win- 
dows. The Schloss Plalz, or Castle Square, — is a fine paral- 
lelogram, where the soldiery seemed to be continually train- 
ing : yet this military place everywhere bore decided emblems 
of Romish dominion ; and there was a greater profusion of 
statues of the Virgin and Child, at the corners of the streets, 
than we had elsewhere observed. 

Passing the large Protestant church, we proceeded to the 
Dora, or cathedral, which is well worth inspection ; especially 
on account of the splendid monuments of the archbishop-elec- 
tors of the empire : some of these tombs are formed of one sin- 
gle stone, and are magnificently decorated. Here, also, lie 
buried Fastrada, the wife of Charlemagne, and Frauenlob, one 
of the most celebrated German bards, who died in 1318. In 
this cathedral is a very ancient gate of brass, and a handsome 
stone pulpit. Here, too, we noticed one of those revolting at- 
tempts which are common in Catholic countries, to represent 
Him whom no mortal eye hath seen, or can see, — under the 
form of an old man ! The Son assists the Father to place the 
crown on the head of the great Diana, whom all the Romi9Q 
world worships, — the Virgin Mary. 



88 ROAD TO FRANKFURT. 

When Buonaparte retreated to Maintz after the fatal battle 
of Leipzig, this churi'h was converted into an hospital for the 
wounded French ; of whom eight thousand were lodged within 
its ample space, together with many hundred oxen. Every 
morning were here seen twenty or thirty corpses of men who 
had died during the night ; while in the streets were dead bo- 
dies of men, mingled with those of horses and oxen ! This ca- 
thedral is a large, spacious, and ancient Gothic edifice, hav- 
ing two cupolas, two choirs, and four towers, — which give it a 
fine effect. There are six or seven other churches : we looked 
into St. Christopher's, and St. Peter's, — the former of which 
was very tawdry with gilding; and at one of the altars, was 
the representation of the absurd Romish legend of the behead- 
ed saint, holding his head in his hand. St. Peter's has a showy 
colored ceiling, and two marble altars, with figures of marble 
gilt. 

At Maintz another kind of money became current : we re- 
ceived, in exchange, crowns of Brabant, worth about four shil- 
lings and seven-pence half-penny, English, — or two florins, 
forty-two kreutzers, — argent d' Empire, in which accounts are 
here kept : sixty kreutzers make a florin, or twenty-pence half- 
penny nearly ; and seven kreutzers are equal to twenty-five 
French centimes, or nearly two-pence halfpenny. 



LETTER VIII. 

Road to Frankfurt. Hotels. Collections^ Monument to the Hessians. 
Sachsenhausen. Domkirche. Bible Depository. History of Frankfurt. 
Educational system. Rationalism. Controversies. Secular authority 
in the Church. Intolerance. Scholastic theology. Thirty years' war. 
Early opponents of the scholastic system. Pietism. Degeneracy of 
Pietism. Bengel and Storr. German philosophy. Its connection with 
theology. Leitnitz. English Deists. French literature. Frederic II. 
Nicolai*. Eclecticism. Neological tendencies. Sender. Kantian phi- 
losophy. Scientific theory. Nature-philosophy. Philosophy of senti- 
ment. Hegel's Idealism. Infidelity of Rationalism. Periodicals. Bret- 
schneider's distinction. Opponents of Rationalism. Schleiermacher. 
Progress of the doctrines of the Reformation. Frankfurt. Maintz. 
Berg. Bremen. Hamburgh. Mecklenburg. Hanover. Brunswick. 
Weimar. Saxony. Prussian Saxony. Wurtemberg. Prussia. New 
Liturgy. 

My dear Friend, — what is emphatically termed the ■ scenery 
of the Rhine,' ends at Maintz, as the country southward be- 
comes flatter : we therefore started, at half-past two o'clock, 
in a commodious hired carriage, for Frankfurt on the Mayne, 



BSIDGE OE BOATS. 89 

a distance of four and a half German miles, or nearly twenty- 
miles and three-quarters English.* On leaving the Rhine, the 
traveller feels as though a spell, which had for some time held 
captive his imagination, were broken ; and as we crossed the 
bridge of boats, it was impossible not to cast a last lingering 
look down the river, with a feeling of regret, like that of part- 
ing with a friend. At Basle, indeed, we were again to te^hold 
this king of streams, already mighty in the cradle of its birth, 
before it becomes a European river ; but it is only between 
Cologne and Mayence, that it presents that transcendent com- 
bination of the grandeur and beauty of nature, with the chiv- 
alrous and the antique, which renders the region through which 
it flows a land of enchantment. 

Adieu to thee, fair Rhine ! How long delighted 

The stranger fain would linger on his way ! 

Adieu to ;hee again ! a vain adieu! 

There can be no farewell to scenes like thine ; 

The mind is colored by thine every hue ; 

And if reluctantly the eyes resign 

Their cherished gaze upon thee, lovely Rhine j 

'Tis with the thankful glance of parting praise ; 

More mighty spots may rise, more glaring shine, 

But none unite in one attaching maze 

The brilliant, fair, and soft, the glories of old days. 

On crossing the bridge of boats, we immediately passed 
through the highly-fortified town of Cassel — ori 6 inally the 
site of another fort constructed by Drusus. A country now 
lay before us, which might have appeared interesting, could 
we have forgotten the exquisite scenery of the Rhine; we 
were at leisure, however, to observe smaller matters, such as 
the very numerous crosses along the road, — the apple and 
pear-trees that lined it,— the fields of poppies, — the antique- 
looking carts and wagons, — and the practice of feeding the 
horses with rye-bread. At the commencement of this journey, 
we were overtaken, for the first time, by rain, and a heavy 
thunder-storm. 

The approach to Frankfurt, the ancient seat of the Frank- 
ish monarchs, and the magazine of modern trade. — presents 
an appearance of opulence and comfort which we had scarcely 
witnessed, since our landing on the continent. It is one of the 
four free towns, and the seat of the Diet ; and is situated in the 
heart of one of the richest districts in Germany. Its imme- 
diate vicinity is adorned with numerous handsome houses and 
villas, having beautiful gardens; and public walks, planted 

* Equal to four and a half French posts, or two and a quarter Ger- 
man posts— A German mile is equal to rather more than four and a half 
English miles. 

8* 



90 FRANKFURT. 

with trees, surround the whole town. We arrived in the 
evening, and took up our abode at the very comfortable hotel, 
Der Englische Hof, in the spacious and agreeable street, called 
the Rass-markt. 

Frankfurt is a very fine city, having a great appearance of 
wealth, and many handsome modern buildings. There are 
two or three agreeable areas or squares, which much con- 
tribute to the healthfulness and beauty of the place. The Zeil 
is a noble street, containing some most princely hotels. The 
magnificent entrance to that called Der Russhche Hof is 
adorned with several statues ; — but the most superb is the 
Gasthof zum Rbmiscken Kaiser : — this palace-like hotel has 
about a hundred windows in front, and a crowned statue, 
attired in the Roman imperial robe. In the same street, we 
were conducted to Steigerwald's splendid glass-shop, which 
contained an immense variety of elegant and costly articles. 
Among the numerous institutions in this city, for promoting the 
arts and sciences, we visited StadePs Academy of Painting, 
where there is also a gallery of statues. Some of the pic- 
tures in this handsome building, are by the old masters, and 
are well worthy of observation : the ceilings of the rooms are 
beautiful. 

Passing the antique gate of Aschenheim, we proceeded to 
the Museum of Natural History, which contains a very noble 
collection, admirably arranged ; that of the birds being parti- 
cularly extensive, and the finest we ever saw : the gallery is 
also rich in fishes, birds' nests, eggs, and fossil bones. Here, 
as in many cities of the continent, the impulse which Cuvier 
gave to the study of the animal kingdom is evidently seen, in 
the extensive collections to which it has given rise. Some 
winding paths, ornamented with flowering shrubs, and forming 
part of those delightful promenades which environ this town, 
led us past the Orphan Asylum, to Herr Bethmann's collection 
of casts, taken from the antiques that adorned the Louvre, 
when the spoils of Italy were conveyed to Paris, and became 
trophies to the military dominion of France. But the principal 
object of attraction in the Bethmann'sche Saminlung, was the 
exquisite, and surpassing statue, in beautiful marble, of Ari- 
adne seated on a leopard,— by Dannecker. 

In the environs, near the Friedberg gate, was pointed out to 
us the monument erected by Friederich Wilhelm II., of Prussia, 
to the Hessian troops who fell at the storming of Frankfurt, 
in 1792, by the French ;— when, in the full madness of the re- 
volution, and in their fury against every thing that wore the 
shape of legitimacy, they carried their arms into foreign lands ; 
while, in Paris, the most horrid massacres were going on, 
under the auspices of Marat, Robespierre, and Danton. Spires, 
Worms, Maintz, and Frankfurt, soon fell before the victorious 



FKANKFURT. 91 

arms of the republicans ; but before the end of the year, 
Frankfurt was regained. 

The Maine divides the city into two unequal parts, which 
are connected by an ancient bridge, one thousand feet in 
length. The southern side of the river is called Sachsenhau- 
sen, from a disputed tradition that a colony of Saxon prisoners 
originally founded this suburb. The quay, along the northern 
bank of the Maine, is very line ; and the nouses which line it 
are of a superior order, and of large dimensions. Here, also, 
is situated the public library, a very handsome modern build- 
ing, celebrated for its complete collection of German history. 
There are six Lutheran, — two or three Reformed — and 
several Catholic churches, besides the Domkirche of St. Bar- 
tholomew. 

This cathedral has a lofty tower of reddish stone, — with the 
odd, truncated appearance, not uncommon on the continent. 
In the interior, the clock, in its green age, of centuries, still 
shows the hours, days, and months, and gives other information. 
There are also two ancient, and remarkable pieces of sculp- 
ture, — one said to be six hundred years old, consisting of 
thirteen scripture figures, in excellent preservation : — the 
other, which claims to have existed for seven centuries, is 
called the ■ Grave of Christ.' In the choir are some old paint- 
ings, in fresco. In this church is also seen a beautiful picture 
by Rubens, of the Virgin, with the Child Jesus in all the love- 
liness of infancy, and forming a pleasing contrast to the 
showy statues with gilt or plated crowns, which we had re- 
peatedly observed, — either representing the Saviour as be- 
stowing the keys of the church on Peter, or receiving money 
from the Three Kings. 

We were fortunate, in the course of our walks about the 
city, in meeting with the Rev. Dr. Pinkerton, who resides here 
with a view to promote the objects of the Bible Society. By 
means of the kindness of that gentleman, we were enabled to 
obtain what we had in vain sought for elsewhere, — a supply 
of German religious tracts for distribution ; which we procured 
at the depository of the Bible Society in this city. 

Frankfurt appears to have had its origin, — and, as some 
think, its name,— from the first visit of the Frankish monarch, 
Charlemagne, to this part of Germany ; — the termination 
which is properly spelled with the letter v, signifying a ford, 
or passage. Charlemagne here built a palace, of which there 
arc; now no remains; and from the time of his successor, Louis 
le Debonnaire, Frankfurt became the chief city of Hast Fran- 
conia, till the extinction of the Carlovingian dynasty, in 911. 
For several centuries, the election to the empire took place 
here ; and, in more modern times, the coronation, — after that 
ceremony ceased to be held at Aix-la-Chapellc. 



92 FRANKFURt. 

During the continuance of the French empire, Frankfurt 
was the capital of the grand-duchy of the same name ; but, 
after the battle of Leipzig, so disastrous to Bonaparte, in 1813, 
its independence was restored ; and it now has its own charges 
d'affaires, at foreign courts. Its government is a moderately 
democratical republic ; and it is said that among the legislators 
of this free city, as among those of free nations, warm disputes 
frequently occur between the aristocratical and the popular 
party. Since the breaking up of the French power, Frankfurt, 
after twenty years of suffering, is said to have flourished more 
than ever ; and by an early act of the Germanic Confederation, 
this city was fixed on as the seat of the Diet, whicli consists of 
deputies from the States. 

The population of Frankfurt amounts to nearly forty-eight 
thousand : of these the bulk are Protestants, about six thou- 
sand being Catholics, — and five thousand Jews, who have, for 
ages, been numerous in this place. It is generally agreed that 
the Jews of Cologne and Treves are the descendants of those 
who settled, in the time of Adrian, in these cities, whence they 
subsequently spread to other parts of Germany. In the reign 
of Constantine, they were so important a body at Cologne, 
that the magistrates of that place were authorised, by the 
imperial government, to appoint them to the office of decu- 
riones. 

The Romer, or Town-house of Frankfurt, is a large and 
ancient Gothic pile, and contains the great hall in which the 
emperors were accustomed to dine, on the day of their corona- 
tion. There ar^ here upwards of forty portraits of the sove- 
reigns, of the Holy Roman Empire, from Conrad I., in the 
tenth century. We could not see the Wahlzimmer, or hall in 
which the elections to the empire took place, as it was occu- 
pied, at the time, by the sitting of the Senate, one of the 
branches of the municipal government; which consists of the 
Senate, the Council of Representatives, and the Legislative 
Body. 

It is an honor to the city of Frankfurt that it abounds in 
charitable institutions, and is eminent for its elementary edu- 
cational system, even in Germany ; where, within a century, 
literature has taken a stride, and has run a career, not to be 
paralleled in any country of Europe. Frankfurt too can boast 
of having given existence to that brilliant star in the constel- 
lation of German genius, Gothe : and it is more hallowed by 
the labors of Spener. 

Education is not here compulsory, as in Baden, but ample 
means are provided by the municipal government for the in- 
struction of all. There are Volksschulen, or schools for the 
people ; a Gymnasium, in which higher branches of science, 



VOLKSSCHULEN- GYMNASIUM. 98 

and classical learning are taught ; — and a number of Institute, 
for separate departments of knowledge. 

The Protestant Volksschulen consist of several primary, or 
elementary schools; a middle school ; and a Muster, or model 
school. In the primary schools, are taught Sachkennlniss, or 
the knowledge of material objects, reading, writing, German, 
arithmetic, singing, gymnastics, needle-work, — -and the 
Christian religion. In these schools upwards of two thousand 
of both sexes are educated together. In the middle school are 
between four and five hundred scholars, who are more deeply 
instructed in most of the subjects taught in the popular 
schools; while other branches are added. The course of in- 
struction here consists of religion, reading, writing, history, 
geography, natural history, natural philosophy, arithmetic, 
geometry, drawing, and singing. In the Muster or model 
school, the pupil is carried forward to still higher attainments, 
and is taught religion, German, French, history, geography, 
technology, natural history, nalural philosophy, arithmetic, 
algebra, geometry, writing, drawing, singing, and verstandes 
ubung, or the exercise of the understanding. The Catholics, 
and the Jews, have their own schools, corresponding to these 
Protestant Volksschulen. 

| The Gymnasium is regarded as a good example of the 
higher German schools. It has about two hundred studentSj 
who are instructed in religion, the German language, and 
composition, writing, ancient and modern history, natural 
history, geography, natural philosophy, mathematics, Greek, 
Latin, Hebrew, French, English, drawing and singing. 
Among these objects, natural philosophy is thought not to have 
quite its due share of attention. As Catholics and Protestants 
mix in the Gymnasium, there are here two chairs of history.* 

The Institute and Stiftungen, consist of a great variety of 
foundations, museums, academies, and societies, each of which 
has been established for the promotion of some branch of 
science, or of the arts : as, the Museum, chiefly for the study 
of music, belles lettres, and drawing ; the Sladel'sche Sliflung, or 
foundation of J. F. Stadel, a Frankfurt merchant, for the en- 
couragement of painting: the Cacilien-verein, or Cecilinn 
Society, for promoting sacred music: the Senkenberg'sche 
Stiff, or Academy of Medicine, founded by Dr. Senkenberg, 
including a botanic garden, a theatre of anatomy, and a medi- 
cal library ; and connected with a society for the study of 
natural history. There is also a Physical Society, for pro- 
moting the pursuit of natural philosophy, and chimistry ; a 
Polytechnic School, lor the advancement of the useful arts ; 
and some other similar institutions. 

* See G. James, Esq. on Education in Germany. 1835. 



94 



GERMAN THEOLOGY. 



♦i, n • gy mnasiam > and in all the elementary institutions, 
the Christian religion forms a distinct subject of instruction, 
on the just principle of Cousin :— il n'y a de morale pour Us 
trois quarts des hommes que dans la religion. 

The Frankfurt Bible Society was one of the first fruits of 
peace,— arising almost immediately out of the calm that en- 
SU i5 i? Q the cessation of those extraordinary convulsions with 
which, for twenty years, the gigantic movements of France, 
and her great military chief, agitated the continent of Europe. 
1 his local society circulated, during the first seven years of its 
existence, upwards of eleven thousand Bibles, and thirty-five 
thousand Testaments. 

The commencement of a return, in various parts of Ger- 
many, to the genuine principles of the inspired record, cannot 
tail to be a source of gratification to every lover of truth ; and 
will, no doubt, issue in furnishing yet another triumphant 
demonstration of the impregnable strength, and the divinity 
• 1 \ 1Stian fa,th »— which has survived such bold assaults 
in the house ot its professed friends, and has begun to emerge, 
in all its elemental purity, from the thick shades of false philo- 
sophy by which it had been obscured. 

From the latter part of the last century, Christianity has 
undergone an ordeal in this country, to which there is no 
parallel, since the iron bondage in which the Romish apostasy 
enchained Europe for a thousand years has been relaxed. A 
philosophical infidelity, under the name of Christianity,— and 
loudly claiming to be founded on the basis of philosophy, and 
philological criticism, has widely run its baneful career 
among the divines and philosophers of Germany; and for 
many years appeared to reign almost triumphant. Amidst the 
various and changeful sentiments and theories which they have 
entertained, the Rationalists, or Antisupernaluralists, appear 
I W nt VG al J. a S re ?. d in Proceeding on the principle of explaining 
away, or discarding the authority of the Scriptures ; rejecting 
whatever professes to be supernatural in the Jewish and 

all mllTf ■ a !l. 0nS ^ and making reason the sole um P ire in 
werP hnt t / K U - h - , The C01 ? se <iuences, as might be expected, 
n b p ji, °bviously seen in the decay of piety, the almost 
£Sh nl g l rell S ,on amon S the higher, and the more edu- 
i>re^ P ° pula [ lndiffer ence to the Sabbath, and the 

irrei.gion that extensively prevailed among all ranks. 

devi,Ho C n a f SeS ^ ICh ha T e !f d to this wide and extraordinary 
who Jtm ,?°- m ^f** ^ of scriptural belief, amon- thos£ 
Tnd ,nml If T d thG u a r ° f Christia ^ have been various; 
StXnth 6 " 1 P ii 0b ^ b T ly l em0iG in time ' When German^ 
ftfftv n? i Cal l° f ^ thGr t0 throw off the P a P al y°^,~ 
a variety of elements, religious and political, were brought 



CONTROVERSIES. INTOLERANCE. 95 

together ; which, under the control of the great master-hand, 
sufficed to produce the grand explosion ; and to render the 
leading principles, and doctrines of Protestantism victorious. 
But when the polemical spirit, which had proved so mighty 
against the enormities of Rome, was hotly manifested by the 
agents of the Reformation, among themselves, — pure Christ- 
ianity was in a great measure reduced to an affair of bitter 
controversy ; which by infringing on its devotional character, 
opened the door to future corruption and abuse. 

Human nature is incident to extremes ; and when the dead 
weight of Romanism, which had so long oppressed the 
human faculties, was lifted off, the reaction was — a rage for 
controversy in the regenerated infant church. This might 
have sooner spent itself, had the contest been purely theolo- 
gical ; but the grand master-mischief, the evil genius of the 
church, in every age — the legal ailir.nce of religion with the 
secular power, — here, as elsewhere, supplied fuel to the flames 
of discord ; for the Protestant princes of the empire put them- 
selves in the place of the Roman pontiff, by enforcing on the 
clergy minutely detailed creeds and confessions of faith, by 
means of pains and penalties. 

Hence the fierce enmities, and the intolerance, which dis- 
played themselves among the Protestants during the remain- 
der of the century of the Reformation, — when the German 
states were depriving of office, banishing, consigning to long 
imprisonment, or even putting to death by torture, individuals 
of eminence among the clergy and laity, for differing from 
the established creeds ; and generally in minor points of 
doctrine. The most virulent hostility was maintained between 
the Lutherans, who adhered strictly to the letter of Luther's 
statements, — and the Reformed, who in some points deviated 
from them ; and each of these parties expelled the other from 
the provinces in which they were respectively predominant. 

The Formula of Concord, in 1574, was but the seal of real 
and lasting discord, as it shut out the prospect of union be- 
tween the two Protestant communities ; for it comprehended 
none but those who, in the strictest and most literal sense, held 
the tenets of its Lutheran framers. The parties now became 
more hopelessly intrenched than ever in their minuter differ- 
ences ; human systems of divinity obtained the ascendancy 
over scriptural interpretation; a verbal, abstract, scholastic 
spirit gained ground ; and, at length, the Sacred Record, in- 
stead of being listened to as the spontaneous oracle of truth, 
was tortured — in order to make it give evidence in favor of 
some speculative point. The pulpit, as well as the chair, be- 
came the sent of a dry, barren terminology, and a battery of 
polemics; while the student of divinity was chiefly occupied 



96 CALIXTUS. PIETISTS. 

in devoting his time and his energies to the Aristotelian philo- 
sophy, and the schoolmen. 

The thirty years' war which desolated Germany with fire, 
sword, and pestilence, from 1618 to 1648, had its remote causes 
in the Reformation itself; and in the religious peace of Augs- 
burg, which, in 1555, secured the civil rights and liberties of 
the Protestants, as granted by Charles V. in 1552, in the treaty 
of Passau. Thus does the depravity of man convert the 
highest blessings into the direst calamities that can befal the 
human race ! — This long-continued flame, though chiefly rag- 
ing between the Protestants and Catholics, as such, could not 
but tend, wherever it reached, to destroy the genuine spirit of 
piety ; and, protracted as it was by the disunion of the Pro- 
testants, to produce disastrous consequences, for the time being, 
to the real interests of religion in general. 

Among the earlier and more conspicuous opponents of the 
scholastic system, and of the bigotry with which it was united, 
was Calixtus who was eminent for his anxiety to promote that 
candor and forbearance which is the only sound principle on 
which all religious controversies can be conducted. He was 
professor of theology at Helmstadt, and died in 1656. Arndt, 
his contemporary, exercised an influence more decidedly reli- 
gious, which was felt in Germany long after his decease, being 
perpetuated by his excellent practical work on True Christ- 
ianity. The names of J. Val. Andrse, and J. Gerhard, are 
also those of men superior to the age in which they lived ; and 
who clearly saw that the spirit of true piety could not flourish 
amid the angry polemics so characteristic of this period. 

Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the pious 
Spener complained that if any man taught more than the mere 
letter of Scripture, and appeared in earnest respecting real 
piety, he was regarded as a papist, or a fanatic. — It is no won- 
der that under the withering influence of a scholastic theology, 
the storms of party violence, and the demoralizing effects of a 
long and furious war, the Christianity of the Reformation 
should be found to have received extensive injury, and to main- 
tain but a sickly existence. 

Spener was the originator of those societies of pious persons, 
who, lamenting the deadness of the scholastic divinity, were 
accustomed to meet together, with the design of promoting 
personal religion, and who were, by way of reproach, termed 
Pietists. The benevolent and excellent Augustus Herman 
Francke, aided by Anton and Breithaupt, who were imbued 
with a similar spirit, afterwards successfully promoted the 
same cause at Halle; which became the seat of an improved 
system of theology, and of that superior state of religious feel- 
ing which constituted a new era in the ecclesiastical history of 
Germany. Pietism, however, too much disturbed the prevail- 



DEGENERACY OF PIETISM. 97 

ing formalism of the scholastic orthodoxy, and the extensive 
jealousy of princes and electors against innovation, to pass 
unnoticed. Francke himself had been driven by persecution 
from Erfurt, in 1691 ; and extensive efforts were subsequently 
made to check the progress of the Pietists and their doctrines. 
— To the class of those who in a more general, and less direct 
manner, exercised a beneficial influence in the cause of prac- 
tical truth, at this period, belongs Buddeus, who was appointed 
professor of moral philosophy at Halle, when the elector of 
Brandenburgh, afterwards Frederick I. of Prussia, founded the 
university of that city, in 1693. 

The degeneracy of Pietism from its original healthy tone 
into formality and fanaticism, robbed it of its earlier promise 
to regenerate the German churches; and when the technical 
language it had acquired became so fashionable as to be a 
kind of passport to advancement at some of the German courts, 
its spirit, as breathed forth by Spener, Francke, and others of 
the original school, was rarely to be found ; and there was a 
dearth of materials of sufficient strength, for throwing up any 
effectual barrier against the approaching inroads of an over- 
whelming scepticism. — Subsequently, the school of the illus- 
trious Bengel, which is to be traced to that of the Pietists, lent 
its aid, during the eighteenth century, to keep alive in Ger- 
many the pure light of truth ; which, amidst all the degene- 
racy of theology, was never extinguished. 

In this country, it may be emphatically affirmed that the 
philosophy of the day has always given a coloring to theology. 
Thomasius was a kind of pioneer to the attacks and innova- 
tions oa Aristotle ; and the German philosophy began, towards 
the end of the seventeenth century, with Leibnitz ; who at- 
tempted to give to all science an air of demonstration. Wolf, 
who became professor of mathematics at Halle, in 1707, pur- 
sued a similar course still farther, and was the founder of the 
Leibnitzo.WoJfian school ; which, after struggling with great 
opposition, continued to be predominant in Germany till to- 
wards the middle of the eighteenth century. 

The most solemn verities of faith were now subjected to de- 
finition, and formal philosophical proof; the most mysterious 
doctrines professedly explained by algebraic formulae, to the 
neglect of the evidence and the limits of the divine testimony ; 
reason was virtually exalted above revelation ; and Christi- 
anity was reduced to a mere abstraction of science, in which 
human speculations wero supposed to be demonstrated equally 
with the doctrines of Scripture, and held a co-ordinate author- 
ity. The adoption of the Wolfian philosophy by the degene- 
rate school of the Pietists, prepared a soil in which the unbe- 
lief of Rationalism, under the sacred name of Christianity, 
was destined to attain a luxuriant growth. 

VOL. vi. 9 



98 INFLUENCE OF THE ENGLISH DEISTS. 

The sceptical and infidel war against revealed religion was 
earlier at its height, in England, than on any part of the con- 
tinent of Europe. Voltaire himself borrowed much from the 
English freethinkers Morgan and Tindal ; and if Collins and 
Toland be added, ample materials may be discovered, as ele- 
ments for Rationalism, when these were imported among a 
people who, if not by nature fonder of theories and specula- 
tions than some others, have, on account of the social and po- 
litical condition of their country, found less vent in other 
directions for their energies, than those who live in an atmo- 
sphere of greater civil freedom. 

Toland's book, entitled * Christianity not Mysterious,'' might 
alone be considered as an adequate germ of all scepticism ; 
and the reception the author met with, in the beginning of the 
eighteenth century, at Hanover and Berlin, indicate that the 
higher classes, at least, of German society, were not unpre- 
pared to sympathise with an innovator who had retired from 
England, his native country,- to avoid the obloquy he had in- 
curred ; whose book had been burnt at Dublin by the hands 
of the common hangman, according to the mode then in vogue 
of attempting to suppress error, — and who openly published 
himself to be a Protestant latitudinarian. We have the au- 
thority of Twesten* for the fact, that the first repl ies to the 
English deists, which were translated into German, were 
wholly inefficient as remedies, and did but aggravate the evil ; 
— they diffused a poison, which the antidote was not adequate 
to neutrali: e. 

The encouragement afforded by the popular monarch Fred- 
erick II. of Prussia to the infidel literiture of France, and the 
reception of its abettors at his court, added the influence of 
royal patronage to the seductions of a volatile scepticism : and 
rendered fashionable an equal license of sentiment and man- 
ners. The birth and growth of German literature, which 
date from this period, were little else than the decay and death 
of religion; and the king himself lived to regret the mischief 
to which he had been so poweriul an accessory. 

The critical dictatorship set up by Nicolai'f of Berlin, which 
in the latter part of the eighteenth century gave law to multi- 
tudes of Germ ;n readers, was of a complexion decidedly and 
boldly infidel ; and the dry and frigid commentaries of the 
Arian and Remonstrant Schools, which had been introduced 
into Germany, were but ill calculated to produce a race of 
men fitted to stem the threatening torrent of error and cor- 
ruption. 

In philosophy, Wolfianism declined, and a sort of Eclecticism 

* Dogmatik. 

t Founder of the Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek. 



BAUMGARTEN. SEMLER. EICHHORN. KANT. FICHTE. 99 

gained ground, more characterised by popularity than depth ; 
but professing to be guided by utility and common sense. 
More or less of this school were the systems of Basedow, Men- 
delsohn, Stein bart, Eberhard, Plattner, and Garve : of these 
speculations a superficial utilitarianism, of a character hostile 
to Christianity, was the chief basis. 

Among the first theologians, in whose systems the neologi- 
cal tendency of either a false or misplaced philosophy 
became evident, were Baumgarten, who died in 1765, — and 
his contemporaries Ernesti, and Michaelis ; the two former of 
whom, however, faithfully adhered to the doctrines of Chris- 
tianity : nor did Michaelis formally deny them, notwithstand- 
ing his low views of Scripture. Even Semler himself, who 
may be regarded as the more immediate instrument in form- 
ing the rationalistic school, did not directly abandon the 
Christian system, although he neutralised it by a cold, spe- 
culative criticism, founded on assumed and mistaken theories 
of interpretation. Hence theology still deteriorated, both un- 
der his influence and that of other disciples of Baumgarten, 
Ernesti, or Michaelis; among whom may be named Morus, 
who taught that, amidst so many controversies, what is directly 
moral in Christianity ought alone to be retained ; also the 
celebrated critic Eichhorn, who robbed religion of all claim to 
the supernatural. 

While the abettors of these alarming innovations were, 
continually increasing, the orthodox clergy appear to have 
offered comparatively little efficient counteraction. The way 
was prepared for an extensive defection from the truth ; and 
attempts were made to conciliate avowed sceptics, by giving 
up all that renders Christianity a peculiar system ; by tower- 
ing it to the level of a mere human invention, wrapped in a 
symbolical or oriental garb, and containing nothing more than 
ordinary truths, discoverable by reason, and adumbrated in 
mythic representations : — in short, by reducing Christianity 
to a form of natural religion — witness the efforts of Nosselt. 
Teller, and Spalding. 

Towards the close of the eighteenth century, the popular 
philosophy gave place to the metaphysics of Kant, which 
aimed at a more profound analysis of the faculties of the hu- 
man mind; and whieh, whatever its fundamental defects, had 
the merit of diffusing in the German universities a spirit of 
deeper reflection, favorable, in its ultimate tendency, to a re- 
ception of the highest religious truths. Its immediate (licet, 
however, on theology, which it brought under its dom nion, 
was to give consolidation to the scattered and disjointed mate- 
rials of Rationalism. 

Fichte, a disciple of Kant, conceived that his master's sys- 
tem warranted him to infer that there is no necessary relation 



100 SCHELLING. JACOBI. HEGEL. INFLlfENCE OF 

between the impressions of human consciousness and the real- 
ily of things; which dogma Kant had left in uncertainty. 
Fichte consequently denied, with some of the British philoso- 
phers, all evidence of the existence of a material world. This 
nevy system did little to produce that humility of reason which, 
as it is the most genuine philosophy, is also essential to a just 
reception of revealed truth. 

Schelling, in opposition to the views of Fichte, maintained, 
in his Nature- Philosophy, that our knowledge of the corres- 
pondence between thought and outward existence, rests on an 
intellectual intuition; and in Germany, where the changes in 
philosophy have exerted so great an influence on religion, 
Schelling's system, though of a pantheistic complexion, as 
identifying the Deity with nature, has nevertheless been re- 
garded by some friends of the truth, as leading to a species of 
reflection ultimately favorable to a transition to the genuine 
doctrines of Christianity. 

The views of Jacobi, who died in 1819, were opposed to the 
Critical Idealism of Kant, the Scientific theory of Fichte, and 
the Pantheism of Schelling. Jacobi founded all knowledge 
not received by the sensed—on belief; which he described to 
be a sort of Internal Sense, or the instinct of reason appropri- 
ated to Truth, of which he considered it the organ. All relig- 
ious knowledge, therefore, he supposed to be attained by a 
kind of immediate consciousness. Historical evidence not be- 
ing thus direct in the information it conveys, Jacobi rejected 
this proof of religion ; limiting himself to the natural revelation 
of the inner man ; and leaving the door open to an unlimited 
philosophical mysticism, without any test of truth beyond the 
impressions of the individual. Connected, in some respects, 
with this school of the philosophy of Sentiment, are Koppen, 
and Salat ; and with greater modifications Schulze, and Her- 
bart. 

Allied to the Kantian school, are Krug and Fries, the latter 
of whom symbolised in a great measure with Jacobi. Von 
Eschenmayer and Wagner, whose systems originated in the 
philosophy of Schelling, became eventually opposed to him, 
but by speculations not at all less mystical than his own. 

Hegel, also of the school of Schelling, held a pantheistic sys- 
tem of absolute idealism. This theory contains the seeds of a 
deep infidelity, which is exemplified in some of Hegel's fol- 
lowers, as in Strauss, author of the Leben Jesu. Among these, 
there is a disposition to deny the sublime truths of a personal 
God, a personal immortality, and the resurrection of Christ 
Other Hegelists, however, as Goschel, have been led, by their 
Christian feelings, to attempt to turn this philosophy to ac- 
count, in favor of the Christianity of the New Testament. 
The various forms and degrees of Rationalism which have 



PHILOSOPHY ON THEOLOGY. 101 

prevailed in Germany, from about the middle of the eighteenth 
century, have all been mixed up more or less with several of 
these systems of philosophy ; and the spirit of daring spec - 
ulation has made dreadful havoc in every department of the- 
ology. Although it is true, indeed, that the absolute infidelity, 
and the Naturalism, in the forms of materialism and panthe- 
ism, which have been maintained by some of the philosophers, 
are not to be confounded with Rationalism properly so called : 
and though we must not charge on the German churches the 
tenets of those who, as Paalzow or Wiinsch, have avowedly 
followed in the steps of the English freethinkers ; or have 
symbolised with them by openly advocating natural religion 
to the exclusion of Christianity, as Bahrdt, Venturing and the 
elder Reimarus, author of the attacks on Revelation contained 
in the Wolfe nb'u'del Fragments, edited by Lessing, — yet it must 
be admitted that the contact of theology with these infidel 
speculations has coirupted it, in Germany, to a far greater ex- 
tent than it was influenced, in England, by our earlier and 
more celebrated deists. 

The neological method of dealing with Christianity was, in 
a great measure, brought into fashion by the speculations of 
Semler, who is recognised as having led the way to modern 
Rationalism, some of the adherents to which system have gone 
the length of boldly advocating a decidedly infidel theology. 
The name Rationalism or Antisuper -naturalist, is applied in 
Germany, in strictness, to those who, while they profess to 
regard Christianity as a divine institution, and Jesus as the 
messenger of Providence, sent for the welfare of mankind, — 
deny that there is any thing in the Scriptures which involves 
the supernatural or miraculous agency of God, and maintain 
that Christianity is merely designed to introduce, confirm, and 
diffuse in the world, a religion to which reason itself might 
attain.* Of this school, though differing in the shades and 
degrees of their sentiments, have been, among others, the phi- 
losophers Stein bart, Kant, and Krug : and the theologians Teller, 
Henke, Thiess, Paulus, Schmidt, Loffler, Rohr, Wegscheider, 
and Schulthess. — De Wette, and Hase, have held a more mod- 
ified and sentimental kind of rationalism. 

The periodical press, has also lent its aid to disseminate the 
poison of s 'epticism and unbelief, in such journals as the All- 
gemeine Kirchenzeitmig, Ruhr's Prediger-Magaziit, and the 
Halle' sch e L iter at ur- Zeitung. 

Another class of divines receive the Old and New Testa- 
ments as a Revelation from God, in a higher sense than the 

* Vid. Apologie der Neuern Theologie des i Deutsch- 

lands, gezen ihren Neuesten Anklager. Von J>. K. <•. Bretshneider 

ObfrconsiBtoriabraihe imd Goncralbuperintondcntun EU Gotha. Halle, 
1826. 

9* 



i02 RATIONALISM AND SEMfRATIONALISM. 

Rationalists allow; admitting that it may contain things above 
reason ; and regarding it as a depository of divine knowledge, 
communicated in a mode different from the ordinary course 
of providence. They do licit, therefore, professedly deny the 
reality of the Scripture miracles ; yet they distinguish between 
the original, and the present evidences of Christianity, in a 
manner which deprives it of the solid basis on which it rests 
1 — historical testimony ; for they maintain that whatever 
might be the effect of the miracles which attended Christian- 
ity, at the outset, — the principal, if not the only proot of its 
divinity to us> is its internal evidence of truth and goodness. 
To this school have belonged Doderlein, and Morus ; and 
latterly, among others, Von Ammon, Schott, Niemeyer, and 
Bretschneider.* 

Though divines of this class have differed in theory, from 
the rationalists properly ^o called, it is certain there have been 
not a few among them who have so far symbolised with the 
thorough-going rationalistic school, as practically to do away 
with the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Amidst 
the chaos of speculations, theological as w 11 as philosophical, 
that have inundated Germany, the shades and hues of unbe- 
lief have been multifoim and various; and where the strict- 
est rationalism has not been avowedly maintained, Chiistian- 
ity has often been employed as little more than a kind of veil 
to some system of human philosophy. Hence among this 
large class, many of whom have termed themselves rational- 
supernaturalists, and supernatural-rationalists, in distinction 
from the systematic rationalists, the neologistic innovations 
have prevailed to such a degree as to produce lamentable ef- 
fects in lowering the general tone of Christianity .f 

It is matter tor rejoicing to all the friends of Christian truth, 
that the advance of the present century has been marked by 
the progress of a decided and extensive change for the better 
in the theological character of Germany. The whole school 
of Wiirtemberg and Tubingen, with Storr at its head, has for 
forty or fifty years sent forth a race of judicious thinkers, who 
have maintained the doctrine of a Miraculous Revelation ; 
have subjected the bold dogmas of rationalism to a searching 
investigation; and have successively exposed the holiowness 
of the reasonings of Eichhorn, who, near the close of the 

* Apologie, etc 

t Bretschneider describes as evangelical those divines who rest the di- 
vinity of Christianity chiefly on the internal evidence : such, he says, are 
the majority of the German clergy, among whom he ranks himself. It 
would seem, therefore, according to Bretschneider, that the term 'evan- 
gelical' may sometimes mean those who are not the most daring ration- 
alists. 



OPPONENTS OF NATIONALISM J AND OTHERS. 103 

eighteenth century, and at the beginning of the present, reign- 
ed supreme, for about twenty years in the department of Bib- 
lical Criticism. 

Among those who have more or less directly counteracted, 
or opposed the rationalistic school, may be mentioned Rein- 
hard, Jahn, Meyer, Kelle ; the two Flatts, Siisskind, Kleuker, 
and Knapp : of living writers, Steudel of Tubingen, Von 
Meyer of Frankfurt, Liicke of Gottingen ; also Neander, Hengs- 
tenberg, and Twesten, all of Berlin : Hahn of Leipzig, Nitzsch 
of Bonn, and Tholuck of Halle, who now occupies the chair 
of the late Professor Knapp. This venerable man died in 
1825, and was, as it were, a solitary beicon-light for the truth, 
at Halle, while the shades of rationalism were casting their 
gloom over its academic halls ; and the students were wor- 
shipping the idol-phantasms of imagination, under the name of 
truth, — unchecked by Niemeyer, — sanctioned by the great 
Hebraist Gesenius, — and more directly encouraged by the ex- 
ample and the guidance of Wegscheider, one of the great 
apostles of the neological exegesis. 

The Moravian brethren possess the credit of having contri- 
buted much towards stemming the torrent of error, by the 
special prominence they give to the great doctrine of the 
atonement. Also, the literary labors of some of the members 
of the theological faculty of Berlin have, for many years, 
had an influence directly opposed to the school of Sender, 
Eichhorn, and Paulus.* 

Some who were once among the supporters of rationalism 
have, to a greater or less extent, renounced their former sen- 
timents. Others appear to have vacillated between the neo- 
logical speculations, and the evangelical doctrines. Among 
the latter are quoted the names of Von Ammon, and De Wette ; 
but their most recent productions leave doubtful the reality of 
any material change in their system. Of the philosophers, 
Schelling may be mentioned as at present entertaining views 
more in harmony, than heretofore, with the doctrines of rev- 
elation. 

Among those who, while they have failed to embrace the 
gospel in its simplicity, are nevertheless to be regarded as 
widely different from the rationalist theologians, and who 
have red the wav to an ultimate return to the doctrines of the 
Reformation; — Schleiermacher is the most conspicuous. This 
celebrated man was educated in the Moravian faith, and he 
early imbibed strong impressions of religion. In his maturer 
years, his highly speculative and ardent mind entered deeply 
into the spirit 01 Plato, of some of whose works he is thetrans- 

• Paul. ia is a theological professor at Heidelberg] and, at the full age 
of man, is still a most zealous and decided advocate for the infidel spec- 
ulation?. 



104 



SCHLEIERMACHEB. 



lator ; and he attempted to construct a scheme of theology on 
a philosophical basis. The grand error of his system consists 
in giving more prominence to the importance of inward feel- 
ing, than to the testimony of Scripture ; and in so exclusively 
fixing his attention on the effects of the gospel on the heart, as 
too much to neglect the historical basis on which it rests. 

So far as relates to the corruption of human nature, the ne- 
cessity of divine influence ;— with its practical efficacy on the 
character; and the agency of faith as a means of receiving 
salvation,— Schleiermacher would seem to agree with the 
bulk of evangelical Christians. He also regarded the recov- 
ery of man from the ruin of the fall, as entirely the effect of 
grace : but in respect to the momentous doctrine of the vica- 
rious sacrifice of Christ, his system exhibits a marked depart- 
ure from the statements of the New Testament.* Schleier- 
macher was professor of theology at Berlin ; and died in 1834. 
Some of his mo*t able followers have advanced much nearer 
to the truth than himself: among these are Twesten his suc- 
cessor ; and Nitzsch of Bonn, both decidedly evangelical. 

The whole population of Germany was estimated, in 1830, 
at upwards of thirty-six millions; the Protestants being to the 
Catholics in the proportion of somewhat less than fifteen to 
twenty-one; and by the terms of the German Confederation, 
both parties are placed on an equal footing as to civil lights. 
The two denominations of Protestants,— the Luiheransand the 
Reformed, are now to a considerable extent amalgamated ; 
though, in Prussia, the union is not completed. 

The grand change which has commenced in the re'i^ious 
complexion of Protestant Germany, cannot be expected to de- 
velop itself in the full glory of its triumphs, without consider- 
able lapse of time. The mvstic phantoms of an imaginative 
philosophy, shifting as the wind, and demanding, with every 
change, to exercise a wide influence over religion, have taken 
too firm possession of the German mind, delighting as it does 
in speculation and in theory, easily to abandon their cherished 
abode. These phantoms are not merely the tenants of dark- 
ness, fleeing when they < scent the morning air ;' they would 
fain linger in the dawn, and haunt the twilight. The shadows 
of philosophic error which have so long obscured Christianity 
in this interesting country, are already yielding to the return- 
ing light : but Rationalism, as holding a sway over the human 
spirit, can become matter of history only to a future genera- 

* Schleiermacher' s system omits the atonement; simply slating that 
the reconciliation (versuhnung,) and the certainty of the Father's love in 
the Son, consist in the new life derived from Christ and existing in the 
regenerate.— But while dying, he spoke of the 'expiatory death' of 
Jesus* 



GEEMAN THEOLOGY. 105 

tion ; nor can so fascinating and deeply-rooted a figment be 
speedily eradicated, according to the ordinary course of events, 
from the national mind : its traces may remain for ages. 

The political condition of the German Slates has to a great 
extent shut out, from the master-spirits, the practical world. 
The active and ardent mind has sought a field for itself almost 
exclusively in the pursuit of philosophy ; and he who has skil- 
fully framed a new system of opinions, and adorned it with 
the charms of eloquence, has laid hold of the whole intellect- 
ual life of the nation. Hence while there have been so many 
novelties and successive systems both in philosophy and reli- 
gion, that it might have been supposed all confidence in the 
opinions of theorists would be shaken, — there is perhaps no 
country, since the times of ancient Greece, where so great a 
deference has been paid to the authority of names. 

There is reason, however, to believe that the existing state 
of the Protestant religion in Germany, viewed on the grand 
scale, is not without high promise, as regards the future. The 
gospel, indeed, must in this country long maintain an apologe- 
tic and polemic attitude ; for it has many enemies who must 
be fairly met in the field of argument, that they may be re- 
pulsed, in the eyes of all men, and compelled to retreat, though 
they may still refuse to submit. If the sons of evangelical 
truth, conscious that the element of controversy is not the best 
atmosphere of faith, feel a hallowed reluctance to become ag- 
gressors in attack, — they must still ever stand on the defen- 
sive, and be ready at any moment to enter into the conflict ; — 
as the soldier in an enemy's territory sleeps upon his arms, 
that at the first blast of the war-trumpet he may have them 
ready for service. 

Truth has still victories to win in this country, above all 
others, by conquering philosophy with her own weapons, and 
rendering her, in a regenerated form, the handmaid oi reli- 
gion. What deism was in England, such in Germ my has 
been Rationalism ; and its final overthrow, as a system, will 
probably take place, so far as human means are concerned, on 
principles similar to those which, in the hands of our English 
Butlers, and Lard tiers, and Paleys,and Lelands, have at length 
fairly driven infidelity, in its grosser forms, from the field of 
argument, in our highly-favored isle; and have sent it to ca- 
ter to the lowest taste, and to celebrate its bemaddened orgies 
among the vulgar. 

A decided return to the leading doctrines of the Reformation 
is evidently going forward in many parts of Germany, not- 
withstanding the long-confirmed reign of error, and the diffi- 
culties which the gospel has still to contend with, in a country 
where religious liberty is seldom well-defined ; where despot- 
ism is not overpowered by the indignant voice of a free peo- 



106 STATE OF THE PEOTESTAHT RELIGION 

pie ; and where, excepting some of the free cities, and the 
Rhine provinces of Prussia, the state not only exercises an ar- 
bitrary patronage, but generally assumes dominion over all 
things connected with religion. 

While Rationalism still holds its sway in several of the 
evnnapTit / he ^"federation, there are many parts in which 
«ni1Th K Ut ? h /J ?" h f, sprung U P in a Previously barren 
soil, or has found additional laborers to promote its growth and 
vigor ; and the universal testimony is, that regarding Germany 

within tSi» ? u /P riSlrlS Change has taken P lace for ^e better, 
within the last fifteen or twenty years 

In the free city of Frankfurt,* though the Lutheran clergy 
vZnX te ^ n g ellc ? 1 > three others, two of whom belong to the 
fi vn,f° rm l d ^ bur ^ h ' andone t0 the German, are use- 
fhl £i? f ° bl ? g l he doct . nnes of the Reformation. At Maintz, 
the chaplain to the garrison of the Confederation is a decided 
advocate for the truth, and has recently published a valuable 
apologetic work on the book of Joshua vaiuahie 

™ In the manufacturing part of the Prussian Duchy of Berg, 
or the distnct watered by the Wipper, which falls into the 
Rhine below Cologne Christianity is said to flourish consider 

2SlL i ?P f Y 8t E , be , rf0ld ' and Barmen > wh «e it has always 
existed in its evangelical form. ™™<*y» 

Advancing to the three free towns of the north, we find a 
highly favorable report of Bremen, which is spoken of as one 

nfanv "iTJT?^^ P ' aCeS f ° r se "°"* religion in Ger! 
many. Lubeck too has not remained unblest with the moral 

exfend'ed ovef t^ iT ^W t0 - d - |ffuSe itSG,f ; and whic " ha 
extended over the Danish dominions of Holstein and Sles- 

eJrWaLfZ*^ im P? rta P t c >ty of Hamburg, remarkable 
early aftei the Reformation for the piety and liberality of its 
inhabitants,-then for its intolerance,-and, in more recent 
times, for its demoralisation, and destitution of the truth- 
there are now thousands of Christians, who are continually 
increasing m number by means of the instrumental™ a 

Ke wor^ g nf ICa h-? ,er F' the - fmitS ° f whose labors appea? 
interest amf 1 P „ l ^ ,bropy ln Which their hearers tak e ™ 
been nWerf in \,?, S J7u strenuous rationalists have lately 
been placed in two of the vacant churches, the evangelical 
v^ fullv gradua ! ! y Prevailing. While religious libert/is no 
Jhl I^ Y ™ c °S msed as the right of individual^-here, as in 

Magazine. * ConUnent . ln the Scottish Congregational 



IN GERMANY. 107 

law against unrestricted freedom of worship is practically re- 
laxed, and the unscriptural and unphilosophical notion that 
the civil magistrate ought to interfere with religious opinions 
as such, is not universally held by the members of the muni- 
cipal government. 

In the duchies of Mecklenburg Schwerin and Strelitz, few 
of the clergy preach the evangelical doctrines: in the uni- 
versity of Rostock, on the Baltic, however, Havernick has re- 
cently opposed the rationalistic speculations, in his lectures, 
as well as in his valuable Commentary on Daniel, and in his 
Introduction to the Old Testament. In our sister kingdom of 
Hanover, there are symptoms of moral resuscitation : but in 
Brunswick, the adjoining state, the prospects are less hopeful, 
partly in consequence of the opposition made by the Duke 
himself to evangelical religion. 

Saxe Weimar, formerly termed the German Athens, was the 
cradle of polite literature, and was illustrious at the beginning 
of the present century for the genius of Wjeland, Herder, 
Gothe, Schiller, Musaus,and other learned men, whom Charles 
Augustus patronised at his court : — but there is here an almost 
total dearth of the gospel of salvation; while rationalism 
openly diffuses its moral poison. In no countries of the Con- 
federation does the philosophical apostacy so triumphantly 
reign, as in Brunswick and Weimar. In the city of Weimar 
resides the celebrated Rohr, as court-preacher, one of the high 
priests of reason, and a zealous advocate for the idol to which 
he ministers. 

The kingdom of Saxony is still renowned as the seat of 
philology, but not as the soil where flourishes the word of truth 
of which the pulpits are for the most part destitute, the Pro- 
testant clergy being, in general, either neologists, or mere 
ethical preachers. At Leipzig, however, there are several 
evangelical ministers, who address large audiences; and in 
this city are maintained some religious societies for promoting 
the truth. A small secession has also taken place here from 
the Lutheran church, as by law established, on the alleged 
ground of its corruptions. 

Wittemberg, in the Saxon province of Prussia, is the town 
where Luther threw down the gauntlet to the * Man of Sin ;' 
and where his ashes now await the morning of the resurrec- 
tion. Here Heubner, and Rothe, still cherish the doctrines of 
the Reformation, and preside with eminent success over tfie 
Theological Institution : which has proved to Prussia a foun- 
tain of moral life. Heubner also exercises the pastoral office 
with great usefulness. 

The University of Halle, also in Prussian Saxony, is ever 
memorable, as the seat of the early Pietism ; the adherents to 
which here trimmed anew the lamp of the Reformation, in the 



108 STATE OF FKOTESTANT RELIGION 

second century after it had been kindled, and at a time when 
it had almost expired in the ungenial atmosphere of a scholas- 
tic and formal theology. To this institution, shortly after its 
foundation, near the end of the seventeenth century, the excel- 
lent Spener was the means of introducing that eminently 
pious man Francke, and his coadjutors, as the first professors 
of theology. Their mantle, however, did not descend down 
the line of their successors in the chairs of the university ; and 
under the influence of Semler, who died in 1791, the basis of 
an infidel theology was widely and deeply laid, with materi- 
als drawn from a daring and unhallowed criticism of the Sa- 
cred Records. 

In later years, Halle became one of the high places of Ra- 
tionalism ; and when Professor Tholuck of Berlin was ap- 
pointed, in 1825, to the theological chair vacant by the death 
of the venerable Knapp, great opposition was made to him on 
account of his anti-rationalistic sentiments. By means of his pie- 
ty, learning, and talents, however he has been enabled to weath- 
er the storm, and is now surrounded by a band of students 
who are daily imbibing from his lips the system of truth. 
Tholuck, in addition to his eminent usefulness as a teacher of 
theology, also possesses high reputation as a preacher ; and 
though discountenanced as much as possible by the rational- 
ist clergy of the city, his labors have been attended with evi- 
dent success among the inhabitants. 

The cause of evangelical religion has been in a considera- 
ble degree impeded at Halle, and other places, in consequence 
of the want of standard works on some of the branches of 
theological learning, of a moderate price, and untainted with 
error. The spirit of antichristian speculation has so long 
reigned over sacred literature in Germany, that some of the 
cheapest and most popular books, — those which, as containing 
useful matter for the examinations, are most commonly to be 
found in the hands of students in divinity, — are more or less 
tinged with Rationalism. Some of these works, especially on 
the Old Testament,* and on DogmatikJ or systematic theolo- 
gy, are of the most pernicious character, containing nothing 
less than downright infidelity ; for the most solemn and mo- 
mentous facts of the Christian religion, such as the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus,-— are either denied, or called in question, and 
every thing vital is explained away. 

In the south of Germany, a distinguished position with re- 
gard to religion is occupied by Tubingen in Wiirtemberg. 
This university is remarkable for the fidelity it has maintain- 
ed to the doctrines of the Reformation ; and it is illustrious in 

* Witness Gesenius's Commentar uber Jesaiah. 
t Wegaeheider Institutiones. 



m GERMANY. 109 

the annals of theology by the names of Storr, the two Flatts, 
Siisskind, and others. Here, as in other places where the 
apostate theology is opposed, it may sometimes be found put- 
ting on its rankest form. A work lately published at Tubin- 
gen, on the ' Life of Christ,' throws off from the hideous form 
of infidelity, every remnant of the Christian mask; and 
Strauss, the author, openly proclaims the Gospels to be the 
compilations of a subsequent age. Such an attack may be 
less dangerous, perhaps, than some others of a less definite 
and more plausible nature ; as it at once calls on the friends 
of truth to make a practical appeal at the bar of historical ev- 
idence ; where the controversy between Christianity and the 
infidelity of Rationalism, must always be ultimately decided. 

In Prussia, the university of Berlin, ever since its establish- 
ment in 1810, has been an increasing source of pure theology 
to Germany ; and the rank it holds among the schools of 
learning has attracted students from ail parts of the Con- 
federation ; from the extra-Germanic dominions of Austria ; 
and even from Russia. The evangelical spirit which pervades 
the theological faculty of this university, distinguishes it be- 
yond all its kindred institutions ; and, in the city, the clergy 
who preach the truth, many of them very earnestly, are so 
numerous, as to constitute a majority of the whole body. 
Hence Rationalism, which in other places is enthroned in the 
pulpits, and in the chairs, does not here sway the sceptre ; and 
Berlin is to Germany a strong-hold of the doctrines of the Re- 
formation. 

Rational divines frequently bestow upon evangelical Christ- 
ians the name of 'mystics ;' and wherever the infidel theology 
prevails, the mysticism of Berlin is regarded with abhorrence. 
Indeed those who have visited this capital, as Christian philan- 
thropists, concur in giving, on the whole, a highly favorable 
report of its thriving state as a seat of genuine Christianity ; 
and of the salutary religious influence it is acquiring, as the 
heart of Protestant Germany, over various parts of the Con- 
federation. Like our own metropolis, indeed, Berlin is very 
destitute of places of worship, in proportion to the number of 
the inhabitants ; but it appears that, in the Prussian capital, at- 
tendance on divine service is regarded, by those who are best 
qualified to judge, as a more decisive test of religious charac- 
ter than with us ; as lower persons are supposed to frequent 
public worship from mere fashion or custom, and more from 
conviction, and from principle. 

The spirit of antichristian error still lingers, however, even 
hr-ro, and has lately appeared from the press in the form of 
the deadliest Rationalism; but happily in instances that arc 
as solitary as they are decisive. Vatke, a Prixat J)occnt in 

vol. vi. 10 



llO STATE OF THE FROTESTANT RELIGIOH 

the university of Berlin, has within these few months* at- 
tempted entirely to overthrow the authority of the Penta- 
teuch, and to prove that the Hebrew theology was borrowed 
from the astronomical theogony of the Chaldeans! This 
daring piece of absurdity has been extensively read and ap- 
plauded in Germany: but the excellent Neander is making a 
successful stand against these renewed, and, it may be hoped, 
convulsive and mortal struggles, of the infidel school. 

It argues well for Neander's secure reliance on the innate 
power of the Truth, that when it was debated among the au- 
thorities whether Strauss's book should be officially suppress- 
ed at Berlin, — he decided, by his casting vote, in the negative. 
This was taking high and noble ground for Christianity. By 
leaning on the obtrusive and unsteady arm of the civil power 
for support, truth gains over error but a temporary triumph ; 
— a triumph which, in the end, she dearly purchases ; for it 
costs her nothing less than her independence, and transforms 
her into the Helot of the state ; it lays her open to the imputa- 
tion of weakness, hypocrisy, and revenge ; and exasperates 
against her the hatred of those whom she can only subdue by 
inspiring them with love. 

A hopeful testimony is borne to the cities of Konigsberg, 
Memel, Dantzig, and other places on the shores of the Baltic. 
Over the extensive country of Silesia, also, are scattered a 
number of evangelical preachers ; and the university of Bres- 
lau is not destitute of a pure theology. 

The Prussian monarch has credit for being sincerely desir- 
ous of promoting the cause of true Christianity ; but the course 
he has taken tor this end is wholly indefensible. In the great- 
er part of Germany, the Lutherans, and the Reformed, — who 
originated in the school of Calvin, — are now united : and in 
Prussia, the means that have been adopted in order to effect 
the union have been arbitrary in the extreme ; proving that in 
this country the basis of religious liberty is not more secure 
than it was in England nearly two centuries ago, at the time 
of the Act of Uniformity. 

From the beginning ot the seventeenth century, the house 
of Bradenburg has professed the Reformed faith, while the na- 
tion at large has been Lutheran ; and from the time when the 
country was erected into a kingdom, in 1701, one of the favorite 
objects of the monarchs, with the exception of Frederick the 
Great, appears to have been to produce a compulsory uniform- 
ity, though at the expense of the religious liberties of the Lu- 
therans. The present king has shown a determination fully 
to centre in his own person the supreme government of the 
church, as well as of the state ; and, in 1822, the New Liturgy 

* In 1835. 



IN GERMANY. Ill 

appeared, under his sanction. In this formula of worship, the 
doctrines peculiar to each party were omitted, while the Re- 
formed service was assimilated to the Lutheran, by some ad- 
ditional ceremonies. 

In 1830 the adoption of the royal liturgy was no longer left 
optional : it was enjoined, in a revised form, to be used in all 
churches Lutheran and Reformed : with a view to remove, as 
much as possible, the distinction between the two denomina- 
tions, and to merge both in the common name of Die Evan- 
gelische Kirche. In this newly-formed community, were to be 
blended the most heterogeneous and conflicting opinions ; — 
strict and moderate Lutheranism ; the whole chaos of Ration- 
alism, in its various shades and gradations ; the doctrine of the 
Heidelberg catechism, as held by most of the Reformed ; and 
the decided Calvinism which has its principal seat at Elber- 
feld, with Krummacher as its leader. 

The consequences of this unjustifiable and antichristian at- 
tempt to force uniformity between two religious bodies, have 
naturally been similar to those which have been witnessed in 
every age and nation, in which the civil magistrate has assum- 
ed a legislative power over the affairs of religion. These ef- 
fects have been especially felt in Silesia. Those who have 
refused to utter their prayers according to the mandate of the 
royal 'Supreme Bishop, 1 have been pronounced 'rebellious* 
against the State ; — useful men, both as pastors and as pro- 
fessors, have been deprived of their offices, and driven into 
exile from their native country ; — Lutheran clergymen have 
been prohibited from the public exercise of their religion ; — 
children have been taken by force from their parents, to be 
baptized by the clergy who have bowed to the new order of 
things; — some individuals have been imprisoned; — others 
have been fined, or have suffered the loss of their goods ; — the 
new liturgy has been introduced, in some cases, at the point of 
the bayonet ; — and in 1834, in order to make the Lutherans 
feel that the attempt to retain their religion was hopeless, all 
persons were prohibited from exercising worship in a private 
house, in presence of any one who was not a member of the 
family. 

It is no wonder that, impelled by the galling pressure of 
these persecutions, many families have sought that religious 
liberty on the other side of the Atlantic, which was denied 
them in the land of their fathers; When will the rulers of the 
earth eease to tyrannize over conscience, and to usurp the 
throne of Christ! These persecutions have already set men 
reflecting, in Germany, more than ever, on the question of hu- 
man authority in the church of God ; and there is no room 
for doubt to those who observe the signs of the times, that the 
voice of truth and reason must ultimately prevail. 



112 DARMSTADT. 

The churches of Germany are strictly national, and that of 
Prussia is so in the highest degree. All the members of the 
Consistories are appointed by the king, and consist of clergy- 
men and laymen. Between the ordinary clergy and the gov- 
ernment, a functionary intervenes entitled the Superintendent ; 
who is in fact a kind of bishop, chiefly designed to form a link 
between the church and the state. Not long since, the king 
introduced the episcopal name itself into the ecclesiastical 
system, having appointed several bishops, who are a species 
of General-Superintendents. 



LETTER IX. 

Watchtowers — Darmstadt — The Schloss — The Bergstrasse — Auer- 
bach — Smoking — Huge Grasshoppers — Storks— Neuenheim — Hei- 
delberg — Churches — Ravages of War — The Castle— The Uni- 
versity — Durlach — Carlsruhe — Lutheran Church — Schloss — Rad- 
stadt — Baden-Baden — Castle-dungeon — Mineral Waters — Visi- 
tors — Ulm — Rustic Wedding — Kehl — Strasburg — Cathedral — 
Romish Ordination — Marshal Saxe's Monument — Preserved Bo- 
dies — Frieburg — Munster — Approach to Switzerland. 

My Dear Friend : — The road to Heidelberg leads over 
the stone bridge across the Maine ; which is here about a 
thousand feet in breadth, and separates Frankfurt from its 
southern suburb of Sachsenhausen. The traveller soon 
passes one of those antique, top heavy looking towers, 
which often form a remarkable feature in the German land- 
scape : this is one of the four watchtowers which mark 
the limits of the ancient jurisdiction of the town. 

An opportunity now occurred of ascertaining how the 
tracts we had obtained at Frankfurt would be received ; 
which was always very civilly, both by drivers and other 
persons. These tracts were published at Hamburgh, by 
the Lower Saxony Society for the " Distribution of Books 
of Christian Edification:" several of them were transla- 
tions from the English. 

In about three hours we reached Darmstadt, a small but 
very handsome city, to a considerable extent modern ; 
with wide and airy streets, and some fine public buildings. 
The general appearance of this place, the good taste of 
the houses, and the cleanliness that prevails, render it ex- 
ceedingly agreeable. It is the capital of Hesse-Darmstadt. 
Though there were very few people in the streets 3 and the 



THE EERGSTRASSE. 113 

town, excepting the market place, had a remarkably quiet 
and lifeless appearance, it was amusing .to witness the of- 
ficiousness and importance of the street keeper; who 
would not allow any person to stand still for a momont in 
the spacious but empt}* streets, and seemed to be a per- 
sonage of far more consequence than any member of the 
London police. 

About two hours were required, here, to rest the horses ; 
this gave the opportunity of a general survey of this beau- 
tiful town: and in the course of our walks we strolled into 
the new Catholic church, which is an elegant rotunda, with 
a very chaste interior, containing none of the tinsel of 
popery ; a simple crucifix being placed on the altar. On 
the floor, however, stood a sort of frame, having the ap- 
pearance of a coffin, covered with black cloth ; which 
proved to be the preparation for saying mass for a priest 
who had died on that day twelvemonth. The infallible 
church does not bate from her leading superstitions, 
though protestantism may, in some places, have a little 
modified her external appearance. 

We had time to visit the Schloss, or chateau of the 
Grand Duke, where is an exceedingly fine collection of 
paintings, in nine large rooms ; and divided into the old 
and new German, French, Flemish and Italian schools. 
Among these pictures were some by Kalf, four hundred 
years old. There are also a number of finely executed 
cork and plaster models of Roman monuments. On leav- 
ing the town by the opposite end to the entrance from 
Frankfurt, we could not but again admire its appearance. 
The streets in the new parts are at right angles ; and ele- 
gance was exhibited, even to the lamp holders, which were 
to us of a novel construction, the lamps being suspended 
from the mouths of serpents. 

In proceeding towards Heidelburg, which lay on the 
other side of the ridge called, the Bergstrasse, the hills we 
had seen before us all the way from Mayence rose into im- 
portance, and appeared covered with verdure, and orna- 
mented with interesting ruins. After skirting some im- 
mense tracts of sand, we continued on our route, having 
on our left the Melibocus, one of the loftiest hills in this dis- 
trict, and reached Auerbach ; where it was again necessary 
to stay, for the sake of the horses, for in these parts it is not 
usual to have relays. The costume of the country pe 
was here changed, the wagoners on the road weanngla 
cocked hats. While remaining at this villaj ere 

literally besieged by troops of little barefooted begging 
peasants, crying out for alms — Geben$u mir einen KreuU 
zer. The German pipes, too. became more frequent than 

10" 



114 HEIDELBERO. 

ever ; and most of the men we met were enveloped ill 
smoke. Indeed the habit of expectoration seems, in these 
parts, so great, that it is no uncommon thing to see num- 
bers of little boxes filled with sand, in the churches, and 
they are sometimes found even at the altars: at the inns 
they form part of the furniture of every room. 

Crucifixes, as usual, lined the road as we advanced, and 
it was varied by the view of Starkenberg castle, and other 
remnants of Teutonic chivalry; which powerfully recalled 
the ruined castles of the Rhine. The country is well cul- 
tivated : pear, walnut, apple, and plum trees, laden with 
fruit, border the traveller's path ; and the beautiful hills are 
covered with vines. In some places grasshoppers of huge 
size, and swarming on the trees as locusts for number, 
made the air to ring with their shrill chirpings ; and in this 
neighbourhood we first noticed the singular effect of large 
storks sitting solemnly on the chimneys. Another order 
of feelings arose in passing through Neuenheim, where Lu- 
ther slept the night before he appeared at the diet of 
Worms, which was not far distant on our right. 

Having travelled for a number of miles along a range of 
irregular hills, clothed with trees or vineyards, or sur- 
mounted with castles, we arrived in the evening at Hei- 
delberg, in the duchy of Baden, distant from Frankfurt 
nearly fifty miles, by the road called the Bergstrasse, or 
mount ain-w ay ^ which here ends. The traveller cannot but 
be charmed with the truly romantic and delightful situa- 
tion of Heidelberg, the view of which on approaching it 
was more strikingly picturesque than that of any town 
we had yet seen. It is surrounded by an ampitheatre of 
mountains, and lies partly along the narrow valley through 
which flows the Neckar, and partly up the acclivity of a 
lofty hill which rises behind the town, clothed to its sum- 
mit with the richest green and finely wooded ; bearing on 
its side, about half way up, the impressive ruins of the 
magnificent and far-famed castle. You enter the city 
across a fine bride, adorned with two massive statues of 
the Elector Palatine of the Rhine, Charles Theodore. 

The large Protestant church of the Holy Ghost being 
closed, we went forward to look at the church of the Je- 
suits, which is handsome, but not much adorned, and con- 
taining a beautiful picture of the Madonna. Popery, in 
these parts, certainly seems modified by its contact with 
Protestantism, whether this be the result of policy, or arise 
from any convictions of the absurdity of its usual gaudy 
and meretricious attire. At the foot of the steep road 
which leads up to the castle, is the Protestant church of 
St, Peter ? a very plain building, but containing some an- 



HEIDELBERG CASTLE. 115 

cient tombs, and the sepulchral inscription of the learned 
Italian lady Olympia Fulvia Morata, wife of one of the 
former professors of Heidelberg : she died in 1555. Close 
to this church it was gratifying to hear, for the first time, 
the sound of psalmody uttered by a school of Protestant 
children, instead of the chants of Romanism. The town 
contains sixteen thousand inhabitants, half of whom are 
Lutherans, and half Roman Catholics. Smoking seems 
to be in full force at this place, the pipe being the constant 
companion of all classes. We met with an instance or 
two, here, of persons who could not read the Roman cha- 
racter, but only the German. 

The ascent to the castle is exceedingly steep, and oxen 
were dragging down the hill rude carts full of wood, with 
the hind wheels fastened to large logs so as to forma kind 
of sledge. On the side of the mountain a beautiful ter- 
race, laid out in delightful public walks, and a gate built in 
honour of the princess Elizabeth of England, in 1607, 
leads to this majestic electoral palace, which is now a, so- 
lemn ruin. 

Few cities have suffered more from all the horrors of 
war than Heidelberg. During the seventeenth century, it 
was again and again sacked, burnt, and partly razed to 
the ground. In the wars with Louis XIV., which, near the 
close of the same century, laid waste the Palatinate with 
fire and sw T ord, and caused it to blaze with the flames of 
twenty towns, on one day, this city received its full share 
of the cup of woe ; and in 1693, the destruction of this no- 
ble castle, as a fortress, was completed. The oldest part 
of it is said to have been constructed about the end of the 
thirteenth century, but the bulk of the edifice is two or 
three centuries later. Its situation is most commanding — 
in a recess formed by mountains. From the front terrace is 
e and charming view, which comprises the 
(own itself, the tasteful gardens, arbours, and vineyards, 
aero falley, on the opposil hei jhts, and the moun- 

tain of Heili -- surmounted by a more humble ruin; 

while the below, to join the Rhine 

at Mannheim, which city is < ' in the (inn and sha- 

dowy di 

The outworks of this fortress, with its towers, ditch 
anc l enti '';ii- various emblems of chivalry and 

v/;i , o the bygone times; and ;i deep glen of 

fine poplar tires contrasts the tendency of nature to per- 
, in, the i : erent in the strongest works 

of human art, and the desolations to which they are con- 
tinually exposed. In one spot is .i in 1 . ent of a 
round tower, whose ponderous mass lies totn from its 



116 HEIDELBERG. WINES. 

foundation, reclining its burden on the earth, having been 
blown up by the French, and testifying by its vast ruin, 
how much more destructive is the rude shock of war, than 
the silently mouldering hand of time. The grand destroyer 
is indeed universal in his operations, but he takes ages and 
millenniums to do his work ; while war leaves in its train 
traces of ruin more resembling the sudden desolations of 
the earthquake. 

The central part of this palace-castle, where the Electors 
of the Palatinate resided and held their court, is a rem- 
nant of the most exquisite ornamental workmanship, and 
in the days of its glory must have been a superb monu- 
ment of the magnificence of the German potentates. In 
the Rittersaal, or Hall of the Knights, which still remains, 
we saw interesting relics of the days of chivalry ; and in 
the gloomy chapel, which has also escaped the general 
wreck, was the figure of a monk, in wood, sitting in his 
confessional, in the dress of his order ; and so well exe- 
cuted as, at first, to startle the beholder with all the effect 
of real life. The ruins are considered the finest in this 
land of feudal remains, and some of them consist of the 
shells of buildings of the richest and most florid style of 
architecture, finished with great elegance and taste. 

In an apartment over the entrance tower, were some old 
paintings of the Electors, and a number of prints and pic- 
tures for sale. Some of these told the tale of desolation, 
and taught us that this pile of stately edifices had not suf- 
fered merely by war ; still less by time; but that the ele- 
ments had also conspired to scathe it into the mere skele- 
ton of what it once was. It has been repeatedly struck 
with lightning, by which it was set on fire about the mid- 
dle of the last century, at the very time when, after having 
been long deserted, the Elector Charles Theodore had fit- 
ted it up anew, and was about to remove hither with his 
household from Mannheim. The flames could not be ex- 
tinguished, and they left the castle but the spectre of its for- 
mer self, so that it has never since been inhabited. The 
desolate, grass-grown areas, and the noble fasades which 
remain as bare walls, adorned with sculpture and heraldic 
arms, form an impressive contrast with what fancy pic- 
tures of the mirth and minstrelsy that once reigned through 
these gorgeous halls, now silent and roofless, and no 
longer illuminated for the nocturnal assembly, but only by 
the ray of the moon, palely gleaming through the ghostly 
walls, which echo but to the winds of heaven, or to their 
own crumbling ruins. 

Heidelberg is celebrated for its wines, and in the 
cellar of this once hospitable palace is the enor- 
mous tun, which contains eight hundred hogsheads, 



CARLSRUHE. 117 

and looks more like a house than a cask : a stair- 
case leads to the top of this grand trophy to Bacchus, 
which is surmounted by a platform for dancing. The sub- 
terranean passages and rooms of the castle, into which we 
were conducted, appeared to be of great extent, and are 
said to reach down as far as the market-place. 

The University, which is a very mean building, is the 
most ancient seat of Protestant learning in Germany, and 
was founded in the fourteenth century. It has about six 
hundred students, and twenty-four professors in ordinary. 
The library contains about forty-five thousand volumes : 
and here we saw the first print of the German Scriptures, 
of the date of 1462, and richly illuminated ; several illu- 
minated missals, one in the most superb style, and another 
of immense size and weight, with clasps of gold ; a manu- 
script of the Gospels, of the date of 875, and a legion of 
St. George, still older ; also a Bull of Boniface IX. with 
the papal seal, incorporating an order of Cistertian monks 
at Heidelberg, in 1399. But the most interesting curiosity 
that was placed before us, was a book of manuscript ser- 
mons in the handwriting of Luther, with his signature on 
the first page. At the entrance of the University, a notice 
was fixed up relative to the expulsion of a disorderly stu- 
dent, a character which has been by no means uncommon 
in some of the German Universities. 

Previously to reaching Heidelberg we had again ap- 
proached the Rhine, on which were seated Worms and 
Mannheim, at no great distance on the right: and now in 
proceeding to Carlsruhe, Spire was soon distinctly visible 
in the same direction. The country was richly cultivated, 
interspersed with quantities of hemp : also with fields of 
tobacco, which we had observed occasionally between 
Frankfurt and Heidelburg. In the journey to Carlsruhe, 
we were struck with the additional number of crosses by 
the road side, which, as before, was lined with fruit trees. 
The women appear, in this part of Germany, to perform 
a very groat proportion of field labour; indeed by far too 
much. 

At Durlach commences a magnificent avenue of pop- 
lars, extending in a straight line to Carlsruhe, a distance 
of nearly three miles. The evening was illuminated by 
an exquisitely rich sunset, and the ride along this vista 
was exceedingly agreeable. After passing n handsome 
building, which, from having formerly been a nunnery, has 
now become a military station, we arrived at Carlsn 
distant from Heidelberg about eight German, or nearly 
thirty-seven English miles. 

i Saturday evening, il was desirable to se- 



118 THE SCHLOSS. 

cure accommodations in which our party could be com- 
fortably lodged during the Sunday ; but we found some 
difficulty, in this new and prepossessing town, in obtaining 
what we wished ; some of the inns being full and others 
such as we did not like. At length, after driving 
about for three quarters of an hour, we were tolerably 
lodged at the Darmstadt Hotel ; though here, as elsewhere, 
there was a deficiency of attention to some points of clean- 
liness, which the tastes and habits of English people ren- 
der indispensable to their comfort. 

On the following morning, one of the Protestant churches 
was crowded, at an early hour, even to the door. The 
minister read a passage from the latter part of the seventh 
chapter of St. Matthew ; on which he founded an animated 
and faithful appeal on sincerity of profession. The new 
church, in the handsome square near the ornamental py- 
ramid, is probably the most splendid Protestant temple 
within many miles. On the first view, it would strike you 
as being Catholic ; for there is rather too great an appear- 
ance of conformity, both within and without, to the sym- 
bols of the church of Rome. Under the beautiful portico, 
at the entrance, is a cross : beneath the pulpit, and over 
the altar, a large gilt crucifix ; and above the pulpit a 
brilliant picture of the Ascension. The church is very 
spacious, and much adorned with marble : the lofty col- 
umns have gilt capitals, and the ceilings are richly orna- 
mented with carving and "gilding. The whole is certainly 
too showy for a place of worship, where the worshippers 
profess to repudiate c the pomp that charms the eye, and 
rites adorned with gold. 5 The new Catholic church is a 
handsome circular building, somewhat resembling that at 
Darmstadt. 

This city, which has about seventeen thousand inhabi- 
tants, is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and 
was called Carlsruhe, or Charleses Repose, in consequence 
of its having been founded, in 1715, by the then reigning 
sovereign, Charles William. The new and white appear- 
ance of the town, the seeming absence of poverty, the 
paving, the beauty of some of the streets, open places, 
and gateways, the cleanliness and extreme regularity of 
the whole ; the Schloss and its park ; the vicinity of the 
forest of Hartwald, which closely surrounds half the town, 
and the delightful promenades which here abound — con- 
spire to render Carlsruhe a paragon among cities for ele- 
gance and beauty. It has gradually grown up around the 
princely grand-ducal palace, which is worthy, for magni- 
ficence and extent, to be the residence of any monarch in 
Europe. 



BADEN-BADEN. 119 

From this edifice about fifteen principal streets radiate, 
so that the town may be compared, in its arrangement, to 
a fan ; and in whatever part of it you are situated, the 
palace-tower is continually presenting itself. Across these 
diverging streets, and parallel with the line of the palace, 
runs, with fine effect, the spacious and handsome main- 
street, nearly a mile in length, and terminated with two 
gates, one of which leads into the forest, the other being 
at the end of the avenue of poplars which extends to Dur- 
lach. From the lofty tower of the chateau, we obtained a 
delightful view of the town, and of the forest, all the ridings 
or alleys of which, including one leading to the Rhine, 
converge towards this point, as do the streets of the town, 
nearly the whole plan of which is visible from this eleva- 
tion. 

Some of the apartments are very fine, and particularly 
the Lang-Saal) or Long Saloon, which contains chande- 
liers sufficient to produce a mimic daylight. Some few 
rooms had fire places, but earthenware German stoves 
were more general, and some of them were very large 
and handsome. The grounds which lie between the pa- 
lace and the town are not enclosed, and form a delightful 
promenade for the inhabitants, being adorned with reser- 
voirs of water, fountains, and a great number of fine 
orange and citron trees, which were beautifully laden with 
fruit. 

In this town is a type-foundry : and here is stereotyped 
a weekly publication called Das Pfennig-Magazin ; one 
of the numbers of which fell into our hands, and proved 
to be exactly on the model of our Penny Magazine. 

On our way to Strasburg, which city is between fifty 
and sixty miles from Carlsruhe, we resolved to take Ba- 
den-Baden. The road lay through a large plain, hills and 
mountains being in the distance on each side, with an oc- 
casional ruin deeply embowered in foliage. At Radstadt, 
where we arrived about noon, we found Marias again at 
the corners of the streets, and the church much more 
popish than the Catholic churches we had lately seen. 
The Schloss, formerly the residence of the Margraves of 
Baden, is a magnificent building, with wings, and has a 
princely air ; but its whole appearance indicates neglect 
and decay. Baden is situated in a beautiful valley of the 
Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, a range of mountains run- 
ning parallel to the Rhine, dark with pine forests, and 
forming part of the ancient and vast Hercynia Sylra. 
Many streams have their source at the base of this chain, 
and from the part of it near the Swiss border, the Danube, 
the greatest of European rivers excepting the Wolga, 



120 SUBTERRANEAN DUNGEONS. 

here begins its course of sixteen hundred miles, to dis- 
charge its mighty flood into the Black Sea. 

On arriving at Baden the best inns proved to be full, 
and the remaining accommodations so extravagant, and 
so bad, that we determined on getting forward another 
stage the same day. They asked fourteen francs for a 
bed at a very indifferent inn. Having hired an intelligent 
guide, we immediately set out to explore the place ; and 
the first object was the castle, situated above the town, the 
residence of some of the Baden family. The apartments 
are very plain, and the unadorned Margrave-Gallery con- 
tains many old portraits of the successive princes. The 
views of the surrounding country are charming, includ- 
ing the waters of the Rhine ; and, high on the neighboring 
summit are the beautiful wild ruins of the Altes Schloss, or 
ancient castle, which we had seen for miles on the road. 
A small and handsome pavilion, or summer house, said to 
have been brought from the ruins above, and to be of the 
date of the eighth century, stands in the garden. 

Of this castie, however, the most interesting feature is 
the subterranean caverns, supposed to have been originally 
a work of the Romans. In the ages of spiritual and feudal 
tyranny, a secret tribunal held its sittings, and confined 
its prisoners, in these gloomy dungeons. Each of our 
party was furnished with a lighted candle, and we were 
conducted down into the judgment-hall, where the judge 
is said to have sat in an elevated recess excavated in the 
wall. These dismal and horrible abodes awaken in the 
mind all that has ever been heard, respecting the inexora- 
ble oppression and cruelty of despotic times and govern- 
ments; for here are all the means for putting them in 
practice. The miserable delinquents were taken to the 
top of the castle, and let down into the secret cave of their 
prison-house, by an opening through the building. 

The massive stone door of one of these dungeons of 
darkness still remains: it is of one solid piece, and is 
about a foot thick, grating fearfully on its hinges, with the 
rust of ages, as it is partially opened, proclaiming, as it 
were, the doleful sentence of irrevocable immurement. 
A strong iron lever stands within, in case the door should 
be closed too much to be re- opened by ordinary force. 
Horrid stories are told of condemned prisoners being 
thrown down a chasm, now partly filled up, which is said 
to have been once of tremendous depth, with a wheel at 
the bottom armed with knives, by the turning of which 
the victims were mangled to death. Whether such revolt- 
ing details be true, in this instance, to the letter, or not, 
there is enough in a visit to these gloomy caverns of. the 



VISITORS. 121 

dark and semi-barbarous ages, to excite gratitude that we 
live in other times; when the progress of Christianity has 
so far humanized society, as to render impracticable the 
secret mysterious murder, under the shield of law; and to 
check the cruelty of unrestrained, and irresponsible power. 
Happy will it be when the voice of public opinion shall speak 
so loud as to put down the disgraceful slavery of Chris- 
tian America ; and the inhuman military torture of Chris- 
tian England, a country where efforts are made to prevent 
cruelty to animals, while the soldier is savagely lacerated 
to death, for trivial offences compared with those crimes, 
desolating to society, which his officers may perpetrate 
with comparative impunity. 

The mineral waters from which Baden derives its name 
and attraction, are supplied by a great many springs, 
differing both in their analysis and their temperature. The 
Ursprung, which is one of the hottest, is 54° of Reaumur, 
and tastes like Rochelle salts : it was known to the Ro- 
mans. A hall has been erected over this spring, orna- 
mented with Doric columns, and containing a collection 
of interesting Roman antiquities found in the neighbour- 
hood; consisting chiefly of altars, sepulchral and mile 
stones, an inscription in honour 01 the barbarous Empe- 
ror Caracalla, a statue of Mercury, and a votive stone to 
Neptune. 

In the parish church are some tombs of the Margrave- 
Electors ; this having been the chief burial-place of these 
sovereigns, for several centuries. The Spital, or Hospital 
Church, is used by the Lutherans, and Catholics ; and 
also by the English Episcopalians, who have a chaplain 
appointed by the Bishop of London, and remunerated by 
voluntary contributions. The church-yard is a place of 
interment common to all; and the graves are adorned 
with wreaths of flowers, and with crosses, and various 
other symbols of Romanism. 

The visitors at this frequented watering-place were 
about two thousand, of whom a large proportion were 
English; which accounted for cards and notices we ob- 
served in the English language.* During the season, a 

* Along the whole of the most frequented line of English travelling 
in Germany and Switzerland, these specimens of composition fre- 
quently amuse the English reader; though, were England as much 
frequented by foreigners as the Continent is by the English, the < Ger- 
mans and the French would no doubl be equally amused with the 
solecisms of our countrymen. The following maybe taken as an 
example : l To the Gentlemen Travellers. The pre eminence of the 
collection which here is to be seen, i too known as to require some 
more description ; also the style of such works of art which 1 will 

VOL. VI. 11 



122 RUSTIC WEDDING. 

daily list of the arrivals is published, in a paper, called the 
Bath-Journal* two numbers of which we saw at the hotel 
where we dined. The total amount of visitors in 1834, 
up to the 23d of September was 14,538; and the arrivals, 
on one day, in the beginning of August 1835, were 121. 
The display of fashion in dress, and equipages, exceeded 
any thing of the kind we had met with on the Continent; 
and much resembled that of some of the most patronized 
w T atering-places in England. The promenades are de- 
lightful, and the situation of the town is exceedingly at- 
tractive. The Conversations-Haus is the centre of the 
beauties of the spot; and the principal room is one hun- 
dred feet long, and very magnificent. The name of this 
place seems to be a sort of euphemism for Gaming-House, 
for gaming appeared to be the principal thing that was 
going on ; and a number of triflers, ladies and gentlemen, 
old and young, German, French, and English, were here 
killing time by this baneful practice, with an air of deep 
seriousness, and interest, that was w 7 orthy of some more 
exalted pursuit. The walks around this building, and the 
view from the front, are charming ; and excursions into the 
immediate neighbourhood must be delightful. 

On leaving this celebrated watering-place, we travelled 
by a winding, lonely, cross-country-road, with the Rhine 
on the right, and the mountains of the Black Forest still 
bounding the horizon on the left; and reached a small 
village called Ulm, at a late hour. The farm-house inn 
was very comfortable ; we were civilly waited on, and the 
provisions were exceedingly good. We found, however, 
that every part of the house but that which we occupied, 
was the scene of music, dancing, and the most boisterous 
merriment. On inquiring of the servant who waited on 
us what all this meant, she replied with great good-hu- 
mour, and apparent satisfaction, Es ist Eine Hochzeit.\ 

The passage on the first floor led to a large loft; and 
on being invited to view the scene, we beheld a company 
of rustics, dressed in the most fantastic manner, resem- 
bling our May-day merry-andrews, and having their faces 
besmeared like the actors of Thespis; dancing with vio- 
lent motion, and whirling their partners round with great 
rapidity; while the instruments of the village minstrels 

always manifest, is ensuring the domination of enchanting pictures, 
and curious novelties. The justice of the prices to the buyers shall, 
without doubt, fulfil their intentions, if they will do me the honour 
to make a visit, which I am respectably begging for.' 
* Badeblatt fur die Grossherzogliche Stadt Baden, 
t A wedding. 



6TRASBURC. 123 

were all made to speak in their loudest tone. The 
solid shoes of the party, adapted for far other purposes 
than 'tripping on the light fantastic toe,' clattered on the 
floor almost like the trampling of horses ; and the howl- 
ings, and unearthly noises that were intermingled with the 
whole, indicated that the libations from the Rhenish grape 
had been quite as copious as was desirable. Seeing the 
state of things, and apprehending that matters might be- 
come still more boisterous and uproarious, we were a little 
concerned to find that the door leading to our apartments 
had no fastenings ; and to prevent a visit from some stray 
bacchanalian, we were fain to barricado ourselves in, 
with tables, chairs, and luggage, by way of self-defence. 
The orgies ran high till near midnight, and such was the 
perpetual jumping, and shouting, and racing up and down 
stairs, that sleep was out of the question, till the merry- 
makers had left the house. Some of the party made their 
appearance again in the street, in the morning, and seemed 
rather disposed to prolong the festivity. 

With the Schwarzwald still on our left, we proceeded 
towards Strasburg; and, on the road, the principal novelty 
was the old-fashioned wells, from which the water is drawn 
by means of a very long pole, suspended above, and act- 
ing as a lever. The spire of the massy cathedral, the 
loftiest in Europe, long marked the place of our destina- 
tion; and early in the day, we arrived at Kehl, a small 
town which, as lying on the borders of France and Ger- 
many, has suffered much by war. A bridge of boats leads 
from this place across the Rhine, between which and 
Strasburg, on the left, is the pyramidal monument erected, 
by Bonaparte, to the memory of General Dessaix, who 
fought in Egypt, and subsequently in Italy, at Marengo; 
where he was mortally wounded, in the moment of victory. 

We were now in the French territory, and were very 
leniently searched by the officers of Louis Philippe : in- 
deed this was almost a mere nominal affair, and conducted 
with the greatest politeness. We had found that those 
fared the best who were the most prompt in facilitating 
the inspection of their luggage ; and we endeavoured to 
profit by our experience. On reaching Strasburg, we 
drove to the Hotel cite Saint Esprit, sl strange name for an 
inn, and indicative surely of the unnatural and morbid 
state of religion, in a country where such uses are made 
of sacred things : we did not however like appearances 
here, and obtained more comfortable accommodations at 
the Hotel cle Paris. 

This large and ancient-looking city has an imposing 
effect, on account of its lofty, massy buildings. Some of 



124 STRASBURG CATHEDRAL^ 

the Places, or squares, are open and airy, among which 
are the Place d'Armes; and the Place de la Comedie^ 
where was lying about a hundred pieces of brass cannon 5 
but the streets, in general, are narrow and dirty ; and al- 
most the whole town has an air of desolation and decay; 
though the traffic, and the bustle, seemed abundant. The 
suburbs are very extensive, but mean ; and are fortified 
by a strong, raised rampart, encompassing the town, 
which is a good deal intersected by water. The inhabi- 
tants are computed at between fifty and sixty thousand, 
including several thousand Jews. The inscriptions on the 
shops are for the most part in French; though German is 
the language of the common people ; among the female 
part of whom, a characteristic costume is the wearing of 
perfectly round hats. This was a Roman town, and was 
burnt by Attila, the sovereign of the Huns ; who, in the 
fifth century, poured down his Gothic hordes from the 
Danube to the Wolga, on both the eastern and western 
empire, as a desolating flood. In later times, Strasburg 
was long regarded as the bulwark of Germany against 
the encroachments of France. 

The object which naturally attracted the greatest share 
of our attention was the truly magnificent Munster ; the 
possession of which, since the union of Strasburg with 
France, has been secured to the Roman Catholics. It is 
said to be exceeded in height only by the Great Pyramid 
of Egypt, which has the advantage of it by about thirty 
feet. As at Antwerp, the northern tower, only, is erected ; 
though two towers are decidedly requisite to produce uni- 
formity in the design. The ' dim religious light 5 is effec- 
tually obtained, in the interior, by a vast number of the 
most superb, stained windows, which throw a shade of 
rich and sombre magnificence over the vaulted aisles of 
the spacious area. The baptistery dates from the twelfth 
century. The celebrated old astronomical clock, in the 
south transept, which exhibits the movements of the 
planets, was out of repair. Under ground, in the crypt, is 
a sort of Calvary, and a group of ancient statuary. The 
whole interior of the cathedral is undergoing a complete 
renovation, which will render this edifice a monument of 
great splendour, though little adapted to the purposes of 
Christian worship. 

While we were in this church, a poor female devotee 
added a waxen leg to the other similar emblems of human 
folly, at one of the altars. Being present at vespers, we 
heard the powerful and exquisitely fine-toned organ, 
which was played by a lady ; and we were much struck 
with the deep voices in the choir ? to which there was a 



ROMAN CATHOLIC ORDINATION. 125 

bass accompaniment, independently of the organ. We 
were accosted here by beggars, with more earnestness 
than usual; though this was not the first time we had been 
asked for alms in the churches ; but the same persons im- 
portuned us here, both in French and German. 

The west front of this cathedral is magnificent beyond 
description, in consequence of its extreme loftiness, and 
the profusion of sculpture. Seen on this side, the church 
has a huge appearance, from the vast elevation of the 
body of the building, which takes off from the apparent 
height of the spire. The latter, though massy in its figure, 
is exceedingly light and open in its masonry, The view 
from the platform at the foot of the spire is very extensive, 
and amply repaid the toil of the ascent. TJie place was 
pointed out, where the spire rises from the tower, at which, 
a few weeks before, the building had been struck by light- 
ning ; large fragments of stone-work were forced out, and 
part of the ballustrade which looks down on the nave of 
the church. The man who lives at the base of the spire, 
on the top of the huge front, escaped injury; but he de- 
scribed the storm as truly appalling. 

Perceiving that the floor of the choir was covered with 
tapestry, we learned, on inquiring the cause, that on the 
following morning an ordination was to take place, by the 
Bishop of Strasburg. The beadle, who was marching 
about with his cocked hat on, and his sword by his side, 
as is usual in Catholic cathedrals, seemed to think that he 
was conferring a great favour in telling this secret, and 
in promising, if I came by six o'clock, to get me a good 
place. I did not fail to seize the opportunity of seeing a 
Roman Catholic ordination of priests and deacons ; and 
repaired to the church, in the morning, in time to witness 
the ceremony ; which proved to be not a little imposing. 
About eighty young men received holy orders. The 
bishop came in procession to the choir, with his mitre on, 
and his crosier in his hand; and as he passed through the 
throng of people, some of whom were kneeling, he held 
up his hands, frequently stopping, in a somewhat theatrical 
manner, to impart his blessing. He then ascended the 
steps of the choir, followed by the young men, each of 
whom held an imhghted taper in his hand. After they had 
stood for some time in circular rows round the bishop, 
who was seated in his chair, attended by his clergy 3 the 
candidates advanced in small groups at a time; and after 
the bishop had anointed thru thumbs, and Laid his hand 
upon their heads, each had his garmenl put on him. at the 
altar, by the attendants ; some having the hoods of their 
dresses pulled over their heads. 

11* 



126 MESERVED BODIES 

Their robes seemed to be made of good, or indifferent 
materials, according to their means : and it was not diffi- 
cult to fancy that one was about to officiate in a rural dis- 
trict, while his neighbour was destined to perform his 
pantomime at a more splendid altar, and to present his 
gorgeous mantle to the gaze of a city throng. During 
the ceremony their candles were all lighted. At an early 
part of the affair, the whole number lay prostrate on their 
faces, in circular rows, before the bishop. Whatever they 
might feel, nothing could be more becoming than their ap- 
pearance : and there was not one who did not look ex- 
tremely serious. The crowd of people in the galleries, 
and in the choir, were exceedingly attentive and orderly. 
The bishop, within a very few yards of whom I stood, is a 
gentlemanlike old man ; but he appeared less concerned 
than any one there, and seemed to go through the busi- 
ness as a mere routine. It was ridiculous to see his atten- 
dants at one time take off his mitre for him, and at another 
put it on, as the service proceeded. The ceremony was 
protracted to a great length, and became at last rather 
tedious. 

In the Protestant church of St. Thomas is the exquisite 
monument, by Pigalle, in marble, erected by order of 
Louis XV. to his general, Marshal Saxe, who died in 1750. 
This impressive piece of sculpture occupies the east end 
of the church. The marshal stands armed, having his 
baton of office in his hand; and Death, holding open the 
lid of a sarcophagus, presents to him a spent hour-glass ; 
while a beautiful figure, emblematic of France, with most 
impressive and eloquent looks of sorrow, implores the 
gaunt and inexorable monster that her favourite hero may 
be spared. All the sculptures are beautifully executed ; 
and the whole effect is striking in the extreme. 

Here also is a mural medallion monument to the brother 
of Oberlin, the exemplary pastor of the Ban de la Roche, 
We were conducted to a side-apartment in this church, to 
see the extraordinary spactacie of the bodies of a Count 
of Nassau, and his daughter, which have been preserved 
for four centuries. These bodies are in the dresses of the 
times, and have no appearance of decay: the face of the 
Count has been coated with varnish. 

There is a botanic garden, connected with the Univer- 
sity : a placard indicated that the French practice of con- 
cours is adopted here: one was to take place for the chair 
of Medical Jurisprudence, to be begun on the 5th of 'No- 
vember 1835. We next visited the large collection of 
natural history, extending to every branch of the animal 
and mineral kingdom^ and also to the vegetable. In this 



ROAD TO SWITZERLAND. 127 

Museum, is a horizontal section of an immense fir-tree 
from Hochwald Forest. It was cut in 1816, and is deter- 
mined to be three hundred and sixty years old: the height 
of the tree was one hundred and fifty feet, its circumfer- 
ence twenty-five, and its diameter eight. 

Our passport having been examined at Strasburg by 
the French authorities, and again at Kehl by those of the 
Grand Duke of Baden, we proceeded through his terri- 
tory, in the diligence, to Freiburg, during the night ; by 
which means we avoided the heat, and much of the dust ; 
the weather having been intensely hot during the day. 
The moon threw her beam upon the landscape, and the 
frequent lightning that emerged from the dark clouds in 
the horizon, clearly revealed the mountainous region of 
the Black Forest, which extends to the Swiss border. 

We arrived between four and five in the morning at 
Freiburg, or Friburg, an agreeable open city, in a hilly, 
picturesque situation. It derives its name, /ree city, from 
the circumstance of certain privileges having been pur- 
chased, by the citizens, of their lord, in the feudal times, 
for a large sum. It now belongs to the Grand Duchy of 
Baden, and is the ancient capital of the territory called the 
Brisgau. As an hour was allowed for breakfast, we had 
time to go to the Munster; which we found open about 
five o'clock, and attended by a great number of people, 
and several officiating priests. This is a most beautiful 
old cathedral, one of the finest in Germany ; and the effect 
of the interior, with its stained windows, is very chaste 
and solemn. The exterior is remarkable for the elegance 
of the workmanship; and the lofty steeple, which rises to 
the height of about three hundred and eighty feet, is of the 
most exquisite frost-work, and everywhere open, having 
the lightest and most airy effect imaginable; the two 
smaller steeples, the buttresses, and the pinnacles, are also 
richly ornamented. 

This city is the seat of a Catholic University, founded 
in the middle of the fifteenth century: in 1318, there were 
thirty-two professors, and eight hundred and thirty-seven 
students. The library is rich in old books, collected from 
many of the monasteries which are now dissolved. Frei- 
burg contains about ten thousand Inhabitants. Here the 
bills were again in florins and kreutzers; the currency 
having, at Strasburg. become French. 

The road to Basle presented many remarkably fine 
virus, and as we advanced we could see far Into Switzer- 
land: the Voages mountains, in France, were on our right; 
and on the lefl the chain of the Bla< k Forest, \\ hich had 
so long been our companion, and which commences at the 



128 BASLE. 

northern frontier of Switzerland. It is the Sylva Marciana 
of the Romans, part of the Hercynia; and the Germans 
formerly called it Markwald, or Boundary -For est. It pene- 
trates into Germany, to the extent of from a hundred, to 
a hundred and fifty miles ; and some of its summits are 
between four and hve thousand feet high. 

This range of woods and mountains, has been the 
asylum to which persecuted Christians have fled, in the 
days when the Christian faith was still struggling with the 
fierceness of Teutonic paganism. It has been the scene 
of endless legends and romances, and stories of gigantic 
kings who resisted the Roman power ; and authentic his- 
tory informs us that this region was the centre of those 
Germanic associations which, ultimately, threw off the 
Roman yoke. Subsequently, the warlike princes who here 
built their strong-holds, presented a formidable barrier 
against the ambition of the Frankish monarchs ; and in 
this part of Germany, more than in any other, the inhabi- 
tants are said still to retain traces of the ancient Teutonic 
times. 



LETTER X. 

Basle — Munster-Kirche — University — Costume — Automatic Figure 
— Bishopric of Basle — Swiss Disturbances after the late French 
Revolution — In the Canton of Basle, in 1833 — Journey to Luzern 
— Storm on the Hauenstein — Olten — Lake of Sempach Luzern — 
Costumes — Fracas — Sketch of Swiss History — Helvetii — Rhaeti 
— Romans — Burgundians — Alemanni — Ostrogoths — Franks — The 
Kingdoms of Lower, and Upper Burgundy, and of Aries and Bur- 
gundy — House of Zahringen — Rudolph — Albert — The Three 
Swiss, and William Tell — Battle of Morgarten — Battle of Sempach 
— Swiss Confederation — Effect of French Revolution — Helvetic 
Republic — Act of Mediation — Restoration of Swiss Independence 
— Constitution of the Swiss Cantons — Political Parties. 

My dear Friend, — We reached Basel, or Basle, distant 
thirty-five miles from Freiburg, aboutnoon ; having crossed 
the bridge over the Rhine, which is here deep, impetuous, 
and about six hundred feet in width. The river separates 
the Grand Duchy of Baden from Switzerland ; in which 
most interesting country we were at length arrived. The 
Drei K'dnige received us — a very commodious hotel, situ- 
ated by the side of the Rhine, of which the windows com- 
manded an interesting and delightful view ; including the 



BA6LE, 129 

bridge, the opposite suburb called Little Basle, and a 
back-ground of distant mountains, which were partially 
enveloped in fluctuating clouds. The Three Kings, or 
Magi, are very popular along the Rhine, and their figures, 
as large as life, adorned the front of our inn ; two being 
represented as whites, and the other as a black, agreeably 
to the Romish tradition. 

After the table d'hote was over, and the evening began 
to draw in, the first of those heavy storms came on, of 
which we witnessed several, in this country of mountains. 
Stupendous black clouds darkened the horizon ; and a 
tremendous tempest of thunder and lightning played on the 
green waters of the Rhine, which flowed in a broad and 
rapid stream under the balcony of the saloon. The storm 
lasted about two hours, with a sublime effect. 

Some parts of Basle are situated at a considerable ele- 
vation above the river : the streets are generally irregular, 
and many of them very narrow and ill-built; but some 
parts of the town are open and spacious^containing hand- 
some houses, and being adorned with fountains. The en- 
virons are delightful ; and, from some points, the nume- 
rous spires and towers givethe place an air ofconsiderable 
importance; the two steeples of the cathedral, especially, 
have a peculiarly elegant effect. Basle is the largest town 
in Switzerland, and was once the most populous ; but it 
now ranks after Geneva, and Bern, and contains fifteen or 
sixteen thousand inhabitants. The diminution is said to 
have arisen from emigration ; and from the w^ant of a more 
liberal policy towards strangers wishing to engage in trade 
in the city. It is a very commercial place, as lying on the 
Swiss border, close to Germany, and France. Many of 
the merchants possess immense fortunes, and magnificent 
mansions. 

A resident gentleman informed us that Basle has been 
remarkably subject to the shocks of earthquakes ; as many 
as forty or fifty having been felt here in the course of a 
year. In 1356, a great part of the city was destroyed by 
this cause ; and tremendous effects were, at the same time, 
produced in some parts of the Jura range. 

The Minster is oddly roofed with variegated tiles of 
brilliant colours, disposed in the form of lozenges. It is a 
handsome structure, of the eleventh or twelfth century, 
with two very fine steeples ; and its western front is adorn- 
ed with sculptures of armed figures on horseback, in a 
style not uncommon along the course ofthe Rhine; but it 
derives no advantage from the red colour of its stone. 
The interior has an impressive effect, on account of its 
old monuments ; some of which, as that Of Anna, wife o( 



130 GARDENS. 

the German emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg, date as faV 
back as five centuries or more. Here too lie the ashes of 
several great men of the times of the reformation ; among 
whom is the temporizing Erasmus, whose conduct was 
unworthy both of his talents, and his convictions : he lived 
here many years, and was rector of the University: he was 
buried in this church with great pomp, in 1536 ; and a large 
mural slab of marble resting on the ground against one of 
the pillars, marks the place of his remains. There is also 
an inscription to one of the two Buxtorfs, who, in the next 
century, were professors of the oriental languages in this 
city. 

The open cloisters adjacent to the church are full of 
sepulchral monuments ; among which is that of CEcolam- 
padius, one of the champions of the reformation, in which 
great work this city was among the first to take part. We 
were interested in being shown the hall, at the back of the 
church, where sat the great Council of Basle; who here 
issued many edicts for the reform of the church, and came 
to the resolution of deposing the Pope. Close by the 
cathedral, which is situated in one of the most agreeable 
parts of the town, is an area called the Pfalz, planted with 
chesnut trees, and built on a wall overhanging the Rhine : 
from this platform there is a commanding and de- 
lightful prospect of the river, the town, and the neigh- 
bourhood. 

The University is celebrated for the names of Erasmus, 
(Ecolampadius, the three Buxtorfs, Wetstein, the Ber- 
nouillis, and Euler. It still ranks as one of the most im- 
portant seats of learning in Switzerland, though the num- 
ber of the students is but small, not amounting to two 
hundred. The library contains nearly forty thousand 
volumes. Here were shown several interesting manu- 
scripts ; and among the rest some autograph letters of 
Luther, Zuinglius, Melancthon, and Erasmus. Here also 
are the admirable drawings and paintings of Holbein, who 
was a native of Basle. The beautiful picture, in eight 
compartments, representing our Saviour's passion, has all 
the freshness of yesterday, though its age is nearly three 
hundred years. A number of sketches, which this favourite 
painter of our Henry VIII. drew with a pen, in a school- 
book, when a boy, indicate, by their spirit and execution, 
what he was afterwards to become. 

Some of the mansions of the wealthy citizens of Basle 
have very fine gardens : we were conducted by a friend, 
to one belonging to the Wurtemberger Hof^ of very consi- 
derable extent, and tastefully adorned with pagodas, 
grottos, and fragments of Roman antiquity, brought from 



BASLE. 131 

Augst, the Augusta JRauracorum of the Romans, situated 
in this canton. In one of the grottos sat the figure of a 
hermit in a monk's dress, well executed, and with a large 
German bible before him, a circumstance which seemed, 
of itself, almost to intimate that we were now in a Protes- 
tant atmosphere. Among other remarkable objects of this 
city, is the Town-Hall, an ancient, much-ornamented 
building: on the staircase is a picture representing Satan 
driving the Pope and his cardinals into the infernal re- 
gions. 

The difference of the costume of the women at this 
place from that of Germany, appeared very marked ; the 
head-dress consisting of large bows of black ribbon above 
the forehead, and a long plait of hair flowing down the 
back : the dress is distinguished by a black velvet bodice 
fitted with white sleeves, and ornamented with chains and 
buckles, and sometimes with gold or silver embroidery. 
The sumptuary laws formerly prohibited the wearing of 
silk, a regulation which now no longer exists, though this 
town is said to be more tenacious of former customs than 
most others in Switzerland. Among the practices that 
are retained here, is that of the husband taking the name 
of the wife in addition to his own. 

The feuds and quarrels which have existed in some of 
the Swiss republics are sometimes such that an English- 
man scarcely knows how to sympathize in them. At some 
period, a dispute arose between the Basilians, and the in- 
habitants of Little Basle, on the German side of the river ; 
and to this day, a wooden figure of a man, connected with 
the clock of the gate which stands at the Swiss end of the 
bridge, puts out his tongue, every five minutes, towards the 
opposite side, to show the contempt of the inhabitants of 
the city for those of Little Basle ! 

The only Catholic church stands in this suburb, Basle 
itself being a Protestant city. Most of the clergy hold 
evangelical views, and the Sabbath afternoons are devoted 
to the catechetical instruction of all the young people, with- 
out distinction. The affairs of the church, which is here 
in union with the state, are administered by a synod, with 
a moderator, called the antistes^ or chief priest. The an- 
cient bishopric of Basle was a province of Germany, and 
the prince-bishop was a vassal ofthe emperor 5 but JJa.sk 
was the fust canton to submit to republican France, to 
which it was annexed in 1798, the French troops having 
occupied the capital, and expelled the Austrian garrison, 
and at the same time the bishop; to whom, and to the em* 
peror all allegiance was renounced, since the restoration 
ofthe peace of Europe, Basle has become one ofthe most 



132 fclSTUttBANOES, 

important of the Swiss cantons ; like the rest, united to th£ 
general confederacy, but entirely managing its own internal 
affairs. The government of the canton is a kind of mode- 
rate aristocracy, consisting of a Great and Little Council; 
to the latter of which, selected from the former, the actual 
administration of affairs is entrusted. 

Events have occurred in the canton of Basle ; within 
these two or three years, which have led to its final divi- 
sion, by the Diet, or general government of Switzerland, 
into two parts. The French revolution of 1830, was fol- 
lowed by agitations in Germany ; and the surges of the 
political element did not fail to extend themselves also to 
Switzerland. At the end of the above year, some of the 
country communes of the canton of Basle insisted on an 
alteration in the existing system of government; demand- 
ing an equal share with the citizens, in the representation, 
and in the councils. They pleaded their numbers, while 
the inhabitants of Basle urged the preponderating w T ealth 
of their city, and its contributions to the state ; and refused 
to yield. The country people rose in arms, established a 
provincial government at Liechstall, a few miles from the 
capital, and, in January 1831, marched against it, but were 
immediately repulsed, and the authority of the state seem- 
ed restored. In the month of August, however, of the 
same year, the insurgent party was once more in arms ; a 
new government was again set up at Liechstall ; and the 
canton of Basle became the scene of confusion and 
anarchy ; in consequence of which the Diet marched a 
federal army into this district of the confederacy, in order 
to maintain peace, until the differences could be discussed 
and adjusted. 

Disturbances of a similar nature took place, soon after, 
in the cantons of Schwytz, and Neuchatel, having also for 
their object the extension of the democratic al principle. 
In Bern, Lucerne, and the Pays de Vaud, the popular de- 
mands were peaceably acceded to ; all of them tending to 
render the separate governments less oligarchical, and at 
the same time to modify the general federal government, 
by equalizing the rights and privileges of each canton, and 
their representation in the Diet. 

While the question of the disputes remained still in 
abeyance, having been deferred by the Diet till the session 
of 1833, the inhabitants of the canton of Schwytz, in the 
autumn of that year, amid the conflict of parties came to 
blows ; and about the same time, a very severe and san- 
guinary contest took place between the troops of the city 
of Basle, and those of the insurgents of Leichstall. The 
latter had procured the services of six or seven hundred 



THE HAUENSTEIN. 133 

of the expatriated Poles ; who, not waiting to make any 
very nice distinction between the barbarous despotism of 
Russia, and the aristocratical spirit of sonie of tho Swiss 
republics, readily aided the insurgents in the attempt to re- 
dress their grievances by force of arms, and enabled 
them to gain a complete victory over the inhabitants of 
the capital. This battle was fought a few miles from 
Basle, 

We were informed by a resident in the city, that besides 
the dead, about one hundred and Mty were left wounded 
on the field ; among whom were some of the principal 
families of Basic. The leader of the country people came 
forward, and gave the first signal of granting no quarter, 
by using his sword to cut the throat of one of his vanquish- 
ed enemies who lay on the ground; and this ferocious ex- 
ample was instantly followed by others of the party, till 
all the wounded citizens w 7 ere inhumanly butchered in cold 
blood ! Large sums were offered by some of the principal 
families of Basle, as a ransom for the dead and mangled 
bodies of their relatives; but the offers were rejected! 
Such is the barbarity, )^e shades of the Three Swiss, and 
of William Tell ! that has been perpetrated in your land of 
patriotism and glory, in the midst of the civilization of the 
nineteenth century ! Such are the acts of savage cruelty 
by which your Protestant children have sullied the para- 
disaical valleys, and the pure snows of this your father- 
land, this land of freedom ! 

We were very fortunate in meeting with an English 
gentleman, who had resided in Basle for two years, to 
whom we were much indebted for his kind attentions; and 
especially for the benefit he conferred on us by drawing 
out a plan of a tour in this most interesting land. 

Having left at Basle every thing we could dispense with, 
we set off in the evening, on a journey of between fifty and 
sixty miles to Lucerne, that we might get at once into the 
heart of the mountain scenery of this extraordinary coun- 
try. For some miles, the Rhine was still our companion, 
bordered with beautiful orchards and vineyards ; and after 
leaving it on the left, we proceeded through a very pictu- 
resque country, cheerfully studded with villages and villas 
to a considerable extent up the Hauenstein mountain, ** hich 
we had to cross. 

The road wound circuitously along its sides, during 
som£ hours, and from the time when it grew dark, 
these gloomy masses of the Jura chain sublimely re- 
echoed the heavy claps of thunder in different directions; 
and the frequent vivid flashes of lightning revealed the 
valleys below, in momentary visions of almost daylight 

V'.l.. V[. 12 



134 LUCERNE. 

reality, like fairy creations, which, the next instant, 
vanished in darkness. We were not entirely free from 
apprehension lest the horses should take fright; as in 
many places, there was scarcely any defence against the 
edges of the precipices, along which we had to pass. 

As the night advanced, the w^eather became worse, and 
the storm drew nearer : the diligence stopped, between ten 
and eleven o'clock, at Olten, a small town in the canton of 
Solothurn, with Roman walls, where we stayed about two 
hours, at a miserable inn; and, while taking some refresh- 
ment, we were at length visited with a violent tempest 
of thunder and lightning, the rain pouring down for half 
an hour in one incessant torrent, and producing a com- 
plete flood. 

At midnight, after the storm had ceased, and nothing 
was heard but its effect, in the roar of waters on all sides, 
we got into a cross-diligence, not without some risk 01 
being wet through in the attempt ; for it is not uncommon 
in Switzerland for the houses to be furnished with great 
projecting wooden spouts, which throw the water, away 
from the foundation, half across the street ; and our vehicle 
was placed exactly where one of these spouts was dis- 
charging so copious a stream, that umbrellas were but an 
imperfect defence. The diligence itself was not water- 
proof, and the wet was a source of considerable annoy- 
ance to our party ; especially as we now had an addition 
to our number, of two fellow-travellers, who were both wet 
before they joined us. 

In the morning we passed along the border of the lake 
of Sempach, where, in 1386, a great battle was fought 
against the Austrians, which terminated in favour of the 
liberties of the Swiss ; and in which Arnold Winkelried is 
said to have deliberately sacrificed himself, in making a 
passage for his countrymen through the ranks of the 
Austrian nobility, eight of whose spears he embraced, and 
buried in his own body.* After being delighted with the 
manner in which the mountains and valleys opened on 
our view, we reached Luzern, or as it is called in French, 
Lucerne, about seven o'clock. The fatigue and discomfort 
of this journey, added, perhaps, to the sour bread, and 
general change of living, rendered the whole of our party, 

* Arnold vom Winkelreid acht Spiesze umfasste, und in Seinem 
Leib begrub, um den Seinen eine Gasse zu machen. 
' O ihr Valer die ihr hier gefallen, 
Gundelfingen, und de Winkelried, 
Eures Sieges Ruhm wird ewig schallen l T 

Reichard, Sempacher Schlact v/nd Kcvpelle. 



LUCERNE. 135 

except myself, invalids, during the three days of our stay 
at this interesting and romantic place. 

Our inn, the Swan, a building of immense height, was on 
the border of the lake ; and commanded a lovely view of 
the water, which is a mirror of fine green, enlivened by 
water-fowl, and edged with beautiful verdure, trees, and 
cottages ; having in the back-ground, vast mountains ; on 
which, when we arrived, the morning clouds were drifting 
in the form of white foaming mist, so as half to conceal 
them, and to convey a sublime impression of indefinite 
magnitude. The lake is of an irregular shape, twenty 
miles long,, and in its greatest breadth about four: it 
washes the Vierwaldstadte, or the cantons of Lucerne, Uri, 
Schwytz, and Unterwalden, and its scenery is admitted 
to exhibit a greater variety than any of the other Swiss 
waters. 

By the Reuss, a rapid stream which flow's from the lake, 
the town is divided into two parts ; and a portion of it, 
however, is built round the head of the lake ; across which, 
a bridge nearly fourteen hundred feet long led from the 
door of our inn to the cathedral. This bridge, and two 
others, one of which is a thousand feet long, run along the 
edges of the lake, and have a very singular appearance, 
forming quite a characteristic feature of the place. They 
are built of wood, and covered in at the top, after the Swiss 
fashion, but are open at the sides ; so that the mountain 
scenery with which the town is surrounded is visible from 
them; and they appear to be the fashionable walks of the 
place. These bridges are decorated, under the roofs, with 
a great number of Romish and historical paintings, in good 
preservation ; representing the events of scripture, and 
the history of the church; battle-scenes of the Swiss, and 
the ' Dance of Death. 5 

From some parts of the town, the view of the mountains 
is truly magnificent ; and the whole country on the south 
side is bordered by them. When the evening throws over 
these mighty masses the hues of a gorgeous sunset, and 
the lake reflects a golden glory, the effect is rich as im- 
agination can conceive. On the east is the Rigi i south- 
ward, the Burgenberg, the Kaiser- Stnhl, and other moun- 
tains; some o? them capped with snow, while we were 
feeling the heat of summer: some are near; others at a 

:i distance ; and on the south-^ est, Mount Pilate tov. 
boldly above the lake. io the height <>f six thousand feet ; 
the lake itself being thirteen hundred feet above the sea. 
The view was altogether novel, compared with any thing 
we had hitherto seen, and the romantic charms of Swit- 
zerland seemed to have burst on as all at o\ 



136 LUCERNE. 

The objects which immediately surrounded us were al- 
most equally grand, beautiful, and singular; the verdant 
and lively borders of the deeply-coloured lake; the moun- 
tains, sometimes belted half-way up with fleecy clouds, 
which left their tops quite clear ; at other times varying 
their hues with the changing light, and occasionally ex- 
hibiting the darkest blue ; in front of this magnificent am- 
phitheatre, the town itself, with its ancient and chivalrous 
fortifications, and numerous towers, following the curva- 
ture of the hilly land towards the north. Indeed there is a 
union in this spot, of the beautiful, the sublime, and the 
picturesque, which perhaps is seldom witnessed even in 
this land of mountains, lakes, valleys, and antique towns: 
few scenes presenting such an admirable variety as this. 
On the Hofbrucke, or Court-Bridge, the longest of the 
three, a horizontal plate is fixed up, on which are engraven 
lines which point to a number of the highest mountains, 
with figures indicating their respective elevations above 
the level of the lake. 

There is an agreeable walk to the top of one of the 
nearest and lowest mountains, on the western side of Lu- 
cerne ; on the summit of which a cross is erected, for this 
canton bears everywhere deep marks of Romanism. 
From this elevation is a fine view of the higher mountains, 
and of some valleys, also of part of the Lake of Lucerne, 
and that of Sempach. Opposite, rises Mount Pilatus, 
which is properly Mons Pileatus, or the capped mountain, 
because, being the highest in the neighbourhood, its head 
is most frequently hidden in clouds ; .but the name has 
come to be Pilatus, and travellers who ascend this moun- 
tain for the sake of the view, or for the petrifactions which 
it contains, are sometimes told a story about Pontius Pilate 
having come hither, conscience-stricken, to drown himself 
in a lake on the mountain ! 

Lucerne and its canton are almost wholly Catholic, and 
superstition, with all its appendages, reigns in this roman- 
tic spot. You are perpetually reminded of its supremacy 
by the tolling of the deep-toned bell of the cathedral ; which 
sometimes at the midnight hour, or early in the morning, 
gives notice, either of some rite of the church about to be 
performed, or of another soul having departed into the 
eternal world. There was always something peculiarly 
solemn and dolorous in the sound, especially during the 
night ; and surrounded as we were with the images of su- 
perstition, it was easy to indulge the fancy that it seemed 
almost to toll from the doleful depths of purgatory. The 
Catholic religion certainly adapts itself, with exquisite art, 
to the senses of mankind $ and owes much of the despotic 



LUCERNE. 137 

power which it has wielded, to the influence it exercises 
over the imagination. The artificial nature of this religion, 
and the corruption of the truth which attaches to it, seem- 
ed here to form a striking and painful contrast to the sim- 
ple grandeur and loveliness of nature. The Pope a few 
years ago always had a nuncio at this place ; whether it 
is so now we did not learn. 

The cathedral is not very large, but its two spires have 
a very picturesque effect. Its interior is much adorned ; 
a profusion of ornaments being placed on the altars ; and 
the organ is of great dimensions, and has a fine tone. In 
the sacristy were some costly and beautiful golden cha- 
lices ; one is seven hundred years old, which brought to 
remembrance the old saying, that ' while the church had 
wooden chalices she had golden priests, but that when she 
began to have golden chalices her priests became wood- 
en. 5 Corruption and splendour have certainly run parallel 
in the history of the church. 

Around the cathedral are some fine cloisters, with a pro- 
fusions of tombs, and frequent receptacles for holy water. 
The space between the cloisters and the church is a grave- 
yard, populous in every part with the dead ; whose tombs 
are covered with crosses, chaplets of flowers, and a great 
variety of symbols of affection and of blended supersti- 
tion. The ground appeared to be continually visited by 
the relatives of the departed ; and one man in deep mourn- 
ing dipped a piece of box-tree in the holy water, and 
sprinkled a new made grave, uttering several prayers: he 
did not seem at all disconcerted by the publicity of his 
situation, but was apparently quite abstracted from sur- 
rounding circumstances ; which is no matter of surprise, 
for it is of the genius of Romanism, contrary to the spirit 
of our Saviour's command,* to perform the most private 
acts of devotion in public. 

The cloisters are^onstructed with open arches, so as to 
give fine views of the lake, and of the mountains with their 
continually- shifting clouds. On the left side of the vesti- 
bule of the church is a carving in wood, which seemed to 
attract considerable attention from the Catholics, repre- 
senting the agony in the garden. There is something in- 
teresting about this work ; but some parts of it border on 
the ludicrous ; particularly the odd way m which some of 
the spectators are represented as peeping over the en- 
closure. 

Near the back of the cathedral is a way-post pointing to 
Einsiedeln, in the neighbouring canton of Schwytz. This 

* Matt. vi. 6. 
12* 



138 LUCERNE. 

village is still, probably, more frequented as a place of pil- 
grimage than any other spot in Europe. The pilgrims are 
said to have amounted recently, at one festival, to twenty 
thousand; the whole number, fbr the year 1814, was a 
hundred and fourteen thousand ; anc} they increased till 
1828, when there were a hundred and seventy-six thou- 
sand! Zuinglius the Reformer was once curate of Ein- 
siedeln ; and he here received his impulse towards the 
work of the reformation, by profound meditation on the 
scriptures. 

There is at Lucerne a church of the Jesuits, which is in 
the same handsome style as is usual with their temples. 
There is also a monastery of Capuchins, so called from 
their cowls : they are friars of the order of St. Francis. 
They walk in the streets bare-headed; and have long 
beards, which it is a rule for them never to shave : they 
are clad in a coarse brown dress, fastened with a cord 
round the waist. We met two of them going about the 
town to attend the sick, in which office they are very dili- 
gent. They appeared very good-humoured easy person- 
ages, by no means mortified in their countenances, though 
their dress is associated with all our ideas of privation and 
penance. They nodded as they passed with an air of 
friendly familiarity, which was quite contrasted with the 
custom of perpetual bowing, so common on the continent, 
and especially in these parts ; for there was here more 
taking off of hats than ever, and this appeared to* be the 
indiscriminate mode of ordinary salutation, among ail 
classes. 

Lucerne has from three to four thousand inhabitants, 
almost all Catholics. There is, however, a very small 
Protestant church. The practice which prevails in many 
parts of the continent, of having the Protestant service, 
with a sermon, only once on the Sunday, at nine in the 
morning, for about an hour and a quarter, is so different 
from the perpetual series of ceremonies which are going 
on in the Catholic churches, that it is evident, until Pro- 
testantism shows itself to be more in earnest, it will make 
little or no impression on the multitude. The trifling por- 
tion of time that is devoted to public worship, for a whole 
week together, would almost lead to the belief that many 
Protestants conceive it sufficient to have thrown off the 
yoke of Rome, without substituting any thing better to 
interest the mind in its room. The Romish church always 
gives her votaries something to occupy them ; and in this 
country you may go into a church after the evening has 
set in, on any day of the week, and find a number of peo- 
ple engaged in their devotions, by the light of a few tapers. 



LUCERNE. 139 

which throw a gloomy ray over altars, tombs, and relics. 
The Protestantism of many parts of the continent does 
not seem, in general, at all to meet the habit which the 
Catholics have of frequently assembling in the churches. 
There is a want of more services on the Sabbath, and du- 
ring the week, as well as of religious meetings for social 
and benevolent objects, as a counterpart to the incessant 
routine of the Romish ceremonies. 

The costume of the Swiss women is, to a stranger, one 
very remarkable and pleasing feature of the country ; and 
it varies, more or less, with most districts. On the mar- 
ket-day, numbers, from each of the four cantons that sur- 
round the lake, had repaired to Lucerne, for the purposes 
of traffic ; and the picturesque effect of the different styles 
of dress was very striking. Some of the women wore 
perfectly flat straw hats, black or white, fastened horizon- 
tally on the top of their heads, and adorned with chaplets 
of flowers, or ribbons of various colours : this is the cos- 
tume of Lucerne. Others had hats of a more curved 
form; and some wore, on their heads, stiffened lace or 
linen, in a form which had a resemblance to the wings of 
a butterfly. These remnants of former customs are highly 
interesting, as serving to carry back the mind to a remote 
antiquity. The Swiss appear eminently attached to their 
ancient habits, and have a great love of country ; features 
which are usually found to belong, in a remarkable de- 
gree, to the inhabitants of mountainous regions. To the 
Highlander the sound of the bagpipe, and to the Swiss the 
air of the Ranz ties Vetches, have been known to possess 
a sort of magic charm, powerful enough, it is said, to rally 
troops again to the charge, after they have been routed on 
the field of battle. 

u And even those hills that round his dwelling rise 
Enhance the bliss his scanty fund supplies; 
Dear is the shed to which his soul conforms, 
And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms. 
Even the lond torrent and the whirlwinds roar, 
But bind him to his native mountains more." 

The principal public buildings in Lucerne, besides the 
cathedral and the church of the Jesuits, are the Town- 
Hall, where there are some chambers finely carved, and 
some old pictures of the ancient ehiefs j and the Irsena), 
containing, among other curiosities, the banner, said to 
tained with the blood of one of the Swiss Avoyers, or 
chief magistrates, who fejl on the field of Sempach. 
There are also several libraries and cabinets of natural 



140 LUCERNE. 

history, mineralogy, and painting. The library of the 
Capuchins is remarkable for the magnificent relievo topo- 
graphical chart of some of the cantons, executed by 
Pfyffer. It is about twenty feet by twelve, and the moun- 
tains are represented on a scale of an inch to a thousand 
feet. This is an extraordinary work, comprising not only 
all the more remarkable irregularities of surface, but also 
every path, hut, and cross, found in an extent of one hun- 
dred and eighty square leagues. It is the best map that 
exists of these parts, and is the admiration of every tra- 
veller who sees it. 

The town of Lucerne itself is, in general, not well-built, 
nor are the houses, with few exceptions, well-constructed ; 
but our hotel, which is a new building, was exceedingly 
commodious. We were here summoned to dinner by the 
sound of the long Alpine horn. The saloon is a very 
spacious and elegant room, with an enchanting view of 
the lake, and of several of the mountains ; especially of 
the Rigi, which is distant but a few miles. Near this part 
of the town is a monument consisting of a huge lion, ad- 
mirably cut in the rock, in honour of some Swiss officers 
who fell in the cause of Louis XVI. during the great revo- 
lution. 

An adventure occurred on one of the days of our stay 
at Lucerne, which illustrates the folly of doing what is 
sometimes attempted by travellers — offering determined 
opposition to certain customs and regulations, which do 
not always harmonize with our English notions of right 
and justice. Two young Englishmen had been dining at 
the table d'hote, attired in the usual style of mountain pe- 
destrians ; and it appeared from their conversation, that 
they were about to proceed in the direction of the Rigi. 
Shortly after dinner, a crowd of people appeared on the 
long wooden bridge, opposite the inn ; and in the midst of 
them lay one of these gentlemen, held down by some 
Swiss, and with his face bleeding. The cause of the 
affray was, that one of the consequential soldier-looking 
personages, who here act as a kind of police, had claimed 
a small fee, on some consideration connected with the 
passports of the two travellers, as they were leaving the 
town; which demand they refused to meet, unless the 
officer would show them his authority for making it. They 
were foolish enough to draw a pistol, by way of intimida- 
tion ; and a violent struggle ensued, attended with blows. 
The issue was that the young gentlemen, instead of pro- 
ceeding quietly on their journey, along the borders of this 
romantic lake, were dragged back into the town, and taken 
before a magistrate, amidst the gazing citizens \ whose 



SWISS HISTORY. 141 

Usual profound tranquillity seemed not a little broken in 
upon by the event of the day ; for the affair furnished am- 
ple materials for discussion to the numerous little groups 
that were to be seen collected together, in various places, 
during the evening. 

It is the more necessary for travellers to avoid getting 
into what is called a scrape here, as it has always been 
the spirit of the administration of the Swiss penal law, to 
give a greater discretionary power to the magistrate than 
is common with us. The code of Charles V. is the gene- 
ral basis of the Swiss jurisprudence ; but, in practice, 
much is said to depend on the judge ; and a magistrate 
who might wish to gratify a private pique, or a national 
antipathy, would have greater latitude than with us. 

Publicit}' characterizes the spirit of our English judicial 
administration, and it seems calculated to aid in prevent- 
ing the abuse of authority ; but here things appear some- 
what different ; and I sought in vain to obtain admittance 
into the justice-room of the Town-Hall, with a view to be 
present at the trial of two fellow-countrymen, with whom 
I had. an hour before, been conversing. I w T as told that 
my wishes could not be granted, unless I attended as a 
witness of the fact. The two delinquents were in the 
sequel, sentenced to be locked up in prison for the night 

The Swiss prison economy has long been, almost to a 
proverb, superior to that of England; and the tardy im- 
provement that has taken nlace in our #aols, is no £re;.t 
SEfr " Ho want to jKKSfe to Iris W o,k' on tl e 




ess rasasfta*. , 

"KVaV. ,. ..-■■ 

134. , . c b. lib. iv. 

tVi 



142 ROMAN DOMINION. 

Helvetii and the Rhaeti, nations of Celtic origin, pursued 
the laborious agriculture of their mountain pastures, when 
the ambition of Rome, grasping at nothing less than uni- 
versal dominion, claimed to plant her victorious eagle on 
the central Alps. The Gallo-Celts of these regions en- 
gaged in alliances with the Cimbri and the Teutones ; 
and their arms were not informidable to the Roman war- 
riors, whom they and their German allies were sometimes 
even able to defeat. Thus, about a century before the 
Christian aera, the Romans were completely routed on the 
borders of the Lake Lemanus,* and the consul Lucius 
Cassius, with Piso, his lieutenant, was slain, by an army 
composed of the Cimbri, and of the Tigurini, a Helvetian 
tribe. 

The scheme of the ambitious chieftain Orgetorix, f for 
emigrating into the more genial climate of Gaul, proved 
the overthrow of Helvetian independence. After his death, 
nearly three hundred and seventy thousand persons set 
out from their native country, to put in execution the ori- 
ginal design; and so determined were they on accom- 
plishing it, that they left their habitations in flames behind 
them, in order to banish from their minds all hope of a 
return. But when arrived in Gaul, they had to encounter 
the legions of Caesar, and were soon compelled to submit 
to his invincible arms. 

Traces of the Roman dominion are to be found in the 
antiquities which have been discovered in various parts of 
Switzerland: and in the prevalence^ iri some districts of 
the Celtic and the Latlnf The ancient calitT^A ° f 
ticum, now Avenchea, in the PaSTS A m ^' 
Roman antiquities he're foundf i?a sepulchral stoTfonf 
memoratmg an interesting incident which occurred durW 

*Now called the lake of Geneva, 
t Caesar de Bell. Gall. lib. i. 5—28 

partaking largely of the Roman o™u e ThlToZw^ 16 ^' M a11 
men of the Romance, as spoken in u? e lwil canton ofl V Speci - 
Jou hai se crin Nun %am i™, ? At • 7 , canton 0l the Gnsons : 



BURGUNDIANS, ALEMANNI, AND OSTROGOTHS. 143 

of peace, the execution of Julius Alpinus, the most influ- 
ential man of the country. His daughter flew to the camp 
of Caecina, and threw herself at his feet, intreating her 
father's life ; but the stern Roman commanded him to be 
instantly put to death. The inscription is in memory of 
the daughter, who is said to have died of grief: ' I, Julia 
Alpinula, lie here interred ; the unhappy offspring of an 
unhappy father. I, the priestess of the Goddess Aventia, 
was not able, by my entreaties, to avert my father's death: 
he was destined to a miserable end. I lived XXIII. 
years.'* 

During the reigns of the last sovereigns, previously to 
the division of the empire, Christianity gradually extended 
itself over Helvetia, which was regarded by the Romans 
as a part of Gaul. When the Roman power had become 
too feeble to repel its enemies, the nomad hordes of bar- 
barians that inundated the south and the west, did not 
suffer the Helvetic and Rhsetic provinces to escape. Con- 
quests and massacres, with all the miseries that follow in 
the train of war, though they could not change the ever- 
lasting features of nature, went far to extirpate the an- 
cient people ; and the mountain peaks, hoary with the 
snows of ages, looked down upon a new and mixed race 

Early in the fifth century, the Burgundians, a Vandal 
nation, but less barbarous than some of the other northern 
tribes, settled on the banks of the Rhone, on the lake of 
Geneva, and on both sides of the Jura range. About half 
a century later, the Alemanni, originally a Suevic people, 
inflamed with barbarian animosity against the Roman 
name, destroyed every vestige they could find of the im- 
perial dominion eastward of the Aar ; where they fixed 
their habitations, as well as in Germania ; allowing none 
of the former inhabitants to remain, but as their bondmen. 
The Ostrogoths from the east, and the Euxine Sea, took 
possession of Rhaetia. In the mean time, the Franks, a 
mixture of a Teutonic race, with other confederated tribes, 
had established themselves in Gaul, and had obtained a 
great ascendency over the Alemanni. 
D Hence, about the year 500, the country now called Swit- 
zerland, was shared between the Ostrogoths, the Alemanni, 
the Franks, and the Burgundians. The Ostrogoths pos- 
sessed Rhaetia, corresponding, in general, to the territory 
of the Grisons, the Tyrol, the cantons of Uri. and Glans, 






* IVLI V . ALPINVLA . HIC . [ACJEO , INFEUCM . PATRM . 
INFLUX . PROLES . DLAE . AVENTIAE . SACERDOS . 
EXORARE . PATRIS . NECEM . NON . POTVI . MALE . MORI 
IN . PATH . ILLI • BUT • ViXl . INNOI , XXUI . 



144 BURGUNDY. 

and the country as far as to the lake of Constance: the 
Aiemanni and the Franks divided the northern, or German 
part of Helvetia between them : while the ancient Roman 
province, lying on the south-west, was under the dominion 
of the Burgundians. At length the Franks reduced the 
Burgundians to subjection, obtained the Helvetic territo- 
ries of the Aiemanni, and drove the Ostrogoths over the 
Rhaetian Alps, which extend eastward, through the south- 
ern part of the canton of the Grisons. Thus, in the for- 
mer part of the sixth century, the whole of the country 
wasbrought under the power of the Franks. 

When the Frankish dominions were divided among the 
Merovingians, the Helvetic provinces were shared between 
two sovereigns ; but Clotaire II., at the beginning of the 
seventh century, re-united the whole empire. Subsequent- 
ly, Charlemagne became the benefactor of this interesting 
country, by introducing into it, among other improvements, 
popular education, and the cultivation of the vine. Under 
his feeble successors, the great families became more and 
more independent of the monarch s ; and new and chang- 
ing kingdoms arose, which extended over more or less of 
the modern Switzerland. 

The kingdom of Provence, or Aries, was founded by 
Boso, in 879 in the territory between the Jura mountains 
and the Rhone ; and when subsequently enlarged, it be- 
came the kingdom of Burgundy Cis-Jurana. In 888, Ru- 
dolph, Duke of Rhaetia, obtained possession of the coun- 
try lying between the Jura, the river Reuss, and the Pen- 
nine Alps, the chain reaching east, from the Col de Bon 
Homme, and Mont Blanc, to Monte Rosa. This new 
kingdom is known by the name of Upper Burgundy, or 
Burgundy Trans-Jurana ; including, besides the more 
northern tracts, Geneva, part of Savoy, and the Valais. 
About 930, Rudolph II. united both these Burgundian 
kingdoms into one, calling himself king of Aries and Bur- 
gundy. 

On the death of Rudolph III., the last of these kings, 
Aiemanni c and Burgundian Switzerland were again uni- 
ted with the Germanic empire. This event occurred in 
the imperial reign of Conrad II. His grandson, Henry 
IV., conferred the Alemannic part of the country on the 
house of Zahringen ; and thus was laid the foundation of 
a line of five successive princes, under whose increasing- 
ly powerful sway Switzerland greatly flourished. Berch- 
thold, the last duke, died in 1218, and his possessions re- 
verted to the empire. 

In the same year in which the dynasty of Zahringen 
expired, was born Rudolph, founder of the towering house 



AUSTRIAN DOMINION. 145 

of Hapsburg, or the imperial dynasty of Austria ; whose 
original paternal domains were situated in the canton of 
Bern. Rudolph, as emperor, professed much attachment 
to the Helvetic people ; and he appears, in the earlier part 
of his career, to have been popular in this country, where 
his house was already so influential ; and where, pre- 
viously to his being elected emperor, he had exerted him- 
self to protect the towns, and the rural districts, against 
the oppression of the other nobles, and of the marauding 
chiefs. 

Albert, the son of Rudolph, had been created Duke of 
Austria by his father, whom he succeeded in the empire, 
in 1298. This prince, of a temper ambitious, haughty, 
obstinate, and tyrannical, was not content that the people 
of the three Waldstadte, or Forest-towns, as the cantons of 
Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden, were called, should, as 
before, hold their privileges as dependencies of the em- 
pire ; but endeavoured to force them to acknowledge 
themselves his subjects, as Duke of Austria, and in right 
of his own hereditary possessions, which were separated 
by these little states. These cantons, already knowing 
but too well with whom they had to deal, refused thus to 
be placed in a new political position. Two governors, 
Gessler and Landenburg, men of kindred spirit with their 
master, were now set over these freeborn children of the 
Alps, with a view to intimidate them into sudmission, and 
to induce them to bind themselves in allegiance to Albert, 
by an oath. To crush their spirit, however, was imprac- 
ticable ; and the manner in which the emperor's represen- 
tatives conducted themselves, was ill calculated to con- 
ciliate a people, in whose breasts the kindled fire of liberty 
was impatient of its imprisonment ; and which only re- 
quired a favourable opportunity to burst into an open 
flame. 

T he taxation of the country had been gallingly increased ; 
the slightest offences were rigorously punished j and the 
imperial officers seemed intent on wantonly provoking 
the people to acts of insubordination, that they might have 
an excuse for severity. A new house could scarcely be 
built, in these mountain-fastnesses, without craving per- 
mission of the Austrian authorities. Gessler set up a hat 
on a pole, and none were allowed to p*#s \hc spot with- 
out bowing, uncovered, to this symbol o\ the Austrian 
dominion; and little more th;m the governor's fiat \ 
required, to shut up any indi-fidoa] m some distant dun- 
ler insultingly called ins strong castle in Uri, 
where he ruled, the 'curb of Uri? 

The oppressed and insulted foresters were sometfi* 

VOL. VI. 13 



146 THE THREE SWISS, AND WILLIAM TELL. 

treated in the most barbarous manner. Of this, one in- 
stance occurred in the case of the father of a young man, 
whose name was Arnold of the Melchthal, in Unterwalden ; 
where Landefrberg was governor. Arnold had, with some 
violence, retaliated an insult offered him by the agent of 
Landenberg, and was sentenced to have his eyes put outf 
which inhuman punishment was inflicted on his aged 
father, in revenge for his having allowed his son to escape 
to the mountains I 

The men of Schwytz had already, long ago, earned the 
reputation of successful resistance to the encroachments 
of tyranny, both secular and ecclesiastical ; and on hear- 
ing of the accession of Albert, they had hastened to 
strengthen the bond of union with their neighbours, which 
was afterwards to be regularly organized, preparatory to 
the introduction of a new sera for the mountain-race, that 
of their emancipation from the Austrian yoke. The time 
was arrived for the spirit of freedom to break forth in the 
persons of the Three Swiss, who were Walter Fiirst, of 
Uri ; Werner Stauflfacher, of Schwytz ; and the injured 
Arnold of the Melchthal, in Unterwalden. These were 
the first to form the confederacy which ultimately issued 
in breaking the rod of the oppressor. 

The plan was no sooner communicated to others than 
it was hailed with joy. The three heroes, each taking ten 
friends with him, met by night, in November, 1307, in the 
meadow of Grutli, near Brunnen, on the lake of Lucerne. 
Here, the whole company, clasping each others' hands, 
vowed to be mutually faithful unto death ; to undertake 
nothing but in common ; to defend their ancient privi- 
leges to the last 5 to do no wrong to the German emperor 
as head of the house of Hapsburg ; not to inflict any per- 
sonal injury on his representatives. Then, at the moment 
when the dawn of the morning began to gild the summits 
of those Alpine masses which form an amphitheatre 
around the lake, the three leaders, advancing into the 
inidst of the assembly, with uplifted hands, took a solemn 
oath to fight manfully for that liberty which God had given 
naturally, to all men ; and to transmit it, as a sacred boon' 
to their posterity. The other confederates imitated their 
example. 

These patriots, and more especially the three founders 
of the league, are embalmed and immortalized, in the 
minds of the Swiss ; as may be witnessed in the pictures 
which are continually met with in Switzerland, repre- 
senting them as lifting up their right hands solemnly 
towards heaven, and swearing that their country shall be 
free. 



BATTLE OF MONGARTEN. 147 

The conduct of Gessler towards William Tell, one of 
the thirty-three, and son-in-law of Furst, sealed the desti- 
nies of the revolution. It was observed that Tell failed 
to pay the servile homage that was demanded to the hat, 
at Altorf ; and he was immediately arrested, and brought 
before Gessler, who hoped to extort from him information 
respecting the rumoured conspiracy. Tell maintained a 
determined silence ; and, according to the received tradi- 
tion, Gessler had the wanton inhumanity to compel him 
to shoot at an apple placed on the head of his son, on 
pain of death if he missed his aim. Tell succeeded in 
hitting the mark, and confessed that, in case he had shot 
his child, a second arrow which he had in his quiver, was 
intended for Gessler himself. 

The history of Tell, in general, admits of no reasonable 
doubt ; even though the incident relating to the apple be 
not so fully authenticated. The attempt, however, by 
Freudenberger, in 1760, to throw discredit on this part of 
the story in particular, called forth the loud indignation of 
the Swiss ; and especially of the government of Uri, who 
caused the sceptical pamphlet to be publicly burnt. 

At all events, the Austrian Vogt* ordered Tell to prison 
for life ; and with the view of seeing him secured, accom- 
panied him in a boat on the lake to Kusnacht. A storm 
arose, and Tell found means to escape 5 and shortly after- 
wards, galled to revenge, he shot Gessler, with an arrow, 
as he was passing along the road. This event brought 
affairs to a crisis; and in January, 1308, the inhabitants of 
the three cantons succeeded, without bloodshed, in de- 
posing the Austrian governors, and in destroying the cas- 
tles which had been erected to overawe the country. Tell 
is regarded as the great Helvetian patriot ; his memory 
is dear to the heart of every Swiss; and imagination is 
laid under an embargo to depict the apparition of the fa- 
vourite hero as practising the cross-bow, at Altorf his 
birth-place, near the lake ; while the wintry moon is shed- 
ding her highest ray on the Alpine snows. 

Intestine commotions prevented Austria from offering 
any effectual resistance to this revolution till the year 
1315, when the wrathful Duke Leopold appeared in Swit- 
zerland with an army of twenty thousand men, and at- 
tempted to force his way to the town of Schwytz, through 
the narrow pass of Morgarten. Fourteen hundred Swiss, 
the flower of the youth of the Waldstadte, after spending 
a whole day in the streets in prayer, and in chanting 
solemn hymns, cast themselves, like the Spartans at Ther- 

* Bailiff. 



148 GRISON LEAGUES. 

mopylae, into the defile ; and hurled down upon the Ausg- 
trians fragments of rocks, and trunks of trees: they after- 
wards charged the enemy, and threw them into entire 
confusion, there being no room for so large an army to 
act. The Austrians were glad to make terms with a peo- 
ple who were so strongly fortified by the nature of their 
situation ; and so resolved to defend their rights against 
the encroachments of tyranny. 

In the same year, the newly -formed alliance of the three 
cantons was confirmed; and from this period the Con- 
federacy of Switzerland dates its rise ; the country having 
derived its name from the canton of Schwytz, or Schweitz, 
one of the three which were first united: Lucerne was 
added in 1332 ; and by the middle of the same century, 
after considerable struggles with the feudal lords, and the 
Austrians, the cantons of Zurich, Glaris, Zug, and Bern, 
had acceded to the league ; but none of the remaining 
states joined it till the sixteenth century. 

In 1386, Leopold II., Duke of Austria, attempted in vain 
to crush the now consolidated Swiss Confederacy; and 
the battle of Sempaeh was fought between fourteen hun- 
dred of the mountaineers, and four or five thousand of 
their oppressors, all chosen men, comprising six hundred 
of the feudal nobles and gentry, cased from head to foot 
in brilliant armour. It was in this battle that Winkelreid, 
the Decius of the Swiss, exclaiming to his companions, 
Take care of my wife and children — / will open a passage 
for you, rushed on the lances of the enemy, and enabled 
his countrymen to pass on to victory, over his body. This 
battle decided the fate of the Confederacy, and placed it 
beyond the reach of danger. If war could ever admit of 
being regarded with complacency, it would be in the strug- 
gles of the Swiss for liberty, against the tyranny of Aus- 
tria, and of the feudal lords. 

Early in the fifteenth century, the community of Appen- 
zell had so far achieved its freedom, as to engage in an 
alliance with the Confederacy. The Grisons, a people in- 
habiting the ancient Rhaetia Superior, commenced assert- 
ing their independence, in 1424, by forming the Grey 
League: soon after, followed the League of the Ten Juris- 
dictions ; while the League of God^s House, which had 
been projected thirty years before, was renewed and con- 
firmed. These small republics were added to the Con- 
federacy in 1788, under the name of the Canton of the 
Grisons. 

Some districts purchased their independence with mo- 
ney paid to their feudal barons. This was the case with 
the little community of Gersau, situated at the foot of the 



FRENCH ALLIANCE. 149 

Rigi, and containing only eighteen square miles of terri- 
tory. Gersau thus became an independent state: it is now 
united with the canton of Schwytz. 

Though the Confederacy had not as yet reached its 
maximum of consolidation and extent, and its politics 
were still connected with those of the Empire, the present 
period comprised some of its brightest days ; as it en- 
joyed a happy exemption from those civil discords which 
afterwards originated in that avarice and ambition which 
preferred the private interests of particular cantons, to 
the general welfare of the whole. 

Thus arose the war of Zurich^ between that canton, 
and those of Schwytz and Glaris, respecting the estates 
of the Count of Tockenburg, who died in 1432. Uri, Un- 
terwalden, Lucurne, Bern, and Zug, afterwards united 
with Schwytz and Glaris; and, in 1440, Zurich was com- 
pelled to submit to terms, and to make peace. 

The quarrel, however, was soon renewed, on the part of 
Zurich, and the burghers assumed the red cross, so hate- 
ful to the Swiss, as the badge of Austria; with which 
power Zurich had now formed a secret alliance. The in- 
habitants of this state at length openly assisted the Empe- 
ror Frederick in his endeavour to obtain possession of the 
Argau; and Bern, with its ally Soleure, united with the 
confederates against the faithless canton. Civil war 
raged, and executions and assassinations occurred among 
the Zurichers themselves, from their own internal dissen- 
sions. 

The Austrians procured troops from France, which 
were commanded by the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XL; 
and, in 1444, was fought the memorable battle of St. Jacob, 
near Basle, in which sixteen hundred Swiss withstood an 
army of several thousand French, and all perished, ex- 
cepting ten, after having laid in the dust multitudes of 
their enemies. The war of Zurich, which lasted thirteen 
years, ended in the re-union of this canton with the other 
parts of the Confederacy. 

The first alliance of the Swiss with France, took place 
in 1453 ; and in 1467, it was renewed, by Louis XI. who 
was anxious to employ the Helvetian arms against his 
powerful enemies of the house of Burgundy. The aggres- 
sions, and the injustice, which the Swiss had experienced 
from the governor whom Charles the Bold had placed 
over his territories adjacent to Bern and Soleure, enabled 
the artful monarch of France to draw into a war with 
Burgundy, a people, whose conduct at Basle, of which he 
had been the eye witness, had inspired him with the high- 
est sentiment of their military prowess. The duke, who 

13* 



150 THE REFORMATION. 

had hitherto been deemed invincible, was completely 
routed at Granson, and the enormous treasure of his 
camp fell into the hands of the Swiss. They also defeated 
the Burgundians at Morat; and again at Nancy, where 
Charles lost his life, in 1477. 

The alliance with France, and the war of Burgundy, 
formed a new sera in the history of the Swiss. Their 
friendship was now courted by neighbouring states, and 
they had established a high military reputation ; but their 
French connexion, and their increasing love of war and 
plunder, made lamentable inroads on the morals of the 
country, and greatly lowered the tone of character that 
once distinguished it. Nicolas de Flue appears, about this 
period, to have patriotically allayed some jealousies that 
had arisen between the rural, and the city cantons; and 
Friburg and Soleure were now admitted into the Con- 
federacy. This occurred in 1481. 

Next arose the Suabian war, occasioned by the Swiss 
refusing to join the Suabian League, a combination of the 
cities of Upper Germany, under Maximilian, for the avowed 
purpose of protecting the Germanic empire. The cantons 
had no confidence in Germany, on account of Austria ; 
especially as an attempt was at the same time made to re- 
new the jurisdiction of the imperial tribunals in Switzer- 
land. The Swiss gained many victories over the Germans^ 
and the war ended in the peace of Basle, in 1499. The 
empire now relinquished all attempt to claim jurisdiction 
in the territories of the Confederacy. In 1501, Basle and 
Schaffhausen became cantons. Appenzell was added in 
1513. 

The Swiss were, in 1512, involved in the Milanese war, 
against France: which originated in consequence of 
Louis XIL having laid claim to the Duchy, and ended in 
his defeat at Navarra; in the invasion of France by the 
Swiss and their allies ; and the subsequent abandonment 
of the pretensions of Louis. After his death, however, 
Francis I. succeeded in obtaining the Duchy of Milan, but 
granted an advantageous peace to the Swiss, ceding to 
them the possession of the Italian bailliages which now 
constitute the canton of Ticino. They had previously 
conquered the Valteline, and Chiavenna. 

During the progress of the Reformation in Switzerland, 
the flame of civil war were repeatedly kindled between the 
Catholic and the Protestant cantons ; and Zuinglius, the 
Reformer, himself fell in battle, at Cappell, in 1531. 

In 1536 the Pays de Vaud was taken from the Count of 
Savoy, and annexed to Bern. This was an important 
accession of territory to the Confederation. 



INDEPENDENCE ACKNOWLEDGED. WAR OF TOCKENBUEGH. 151 

From the fifteenth century, the Helvetic Confederation be- 
came recognized among the European states ; and subsequently 
to the Milanese revolution, the Swiss engaged in no foreign 
war on their own account ; and remained unmolested by in- 
vasion, for nearly three centuries, — till the ■ storm that wreck- 
ed the world,' involved them in all the calamities that power- 
ful and lawful enemies could inflict. During this long inter- 
val, however, the ancient connection with the German empire, 
and with Austria ; the situation of the country, between Italy, 
Germany, and France ; and its own intestine civil and religious 
discords, — continued occasionally to render it the scene of 
bloodshed and desolation. In 1620 a disastrous religious war 
broke out in the country of the Grisons, and the Protestants 
of the Valteline were massacred with the most barbarous atro- 
city. — At the peace of Westphalia, in 1648, the Swiss cantons 
were formally acknowledged to be independent of the Ger- 
marjic empire. 

On the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685, Protestant 
Switzerland became the asylum of the persecuted French ; 
and the disinterested and Christian hospitality that was for 
many years displayed by these comparatively poor states, is 
painfully contrasted with the bloody feuds which too often oc- 
curred among them on account of religion : witness the civil 
war of Tockenburgh, which lasted during nine years, and be- 
fore its close in 1712, presented to Europe the spectacle of 
nearly 150,000 Swiss, Protestants and Catholics, in arms ; and 
arrayed in mortal combat against each other ! The preva- 
lence of covetousness, private ambition, and religious discord ; 
and the want of mutual confidence among the cantons, together 
with the progress of French principles and morals, prepared 
the country to fall a prey to republican France. 

The French revolution, like an earthquake in the heart of 
Europe, agitated all the neighboring regions with the shock. 
After doing every thing to foment the internal dissensions of 
Switzerland, the republicans of France entered the country, 
in 1797; and after considerable bloodshed, they succeeded in 
abolishing the ancient confederation, and in erecting another 
constitution, under the name of Helvetic Republic ; which was 
modelled according to the new government of France, and 
subject to its councils. This was the beginning of sorrows to 
the modem Swiss, and the cause of a series of bloody con- 
flicts and revolutions. 

The ancient spirit of freedom, roused to resistance, — pro- 
duced dreadful collisions with the French arms. This was 
especially the case with respect to the small cantons, after 
most of the others had yielded. Brunnen, on the take of Lu- 
cerne ; in the neighborhood of which village the three Swiss 
patriots had formed the league against the tyranny ol Austi i i, 



152 RESISTANCE TO REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 

five hundred years before, — now became the seat of the coun- 
cils of these three original Forest Cantons : and here they 
concerted measures for endeavoring to repel the cruel ag- 
gressions of France. Morgarten, where the first great victory 
had been achieved over the Austrian power, was again the 
scene of conflict ; and, at this memorable spot the poor Swiss, 
under the command of their general Aloys Reding, frequently 
repulsed their unprincipled invaders. The French, finding 
that it was not easy to crush liberty in the home where it had 
been born, and had waxen strong for centuries, sought to al- 
lure their victims by solemnly promising to respect their an- 
cient independence ; but the Swiss were no sooner thrown off 
their guard by these syren vows, than their faithless enemies 
rushed upon them unarmed, with an overpowering force ; and 
compelled them on pain of death to swear submission to the 
new Helvetic Constitution. 

Unterwalden was the last canton to yield to the French ; 
and when it was summoned to give in its adherence to the 
revolution, all the men of the Lower Valley, fifteen hundred 
only in number, resolved to sacrifice themselves in the hope- 
less attempt to save their country ; and flew to arms. They 
removed their wives, children, and cattle, into the highest cha- 
lets on the mountains, and then descended to meet the foe. 

The French had embarked on the lake ; and these beaute- 
ous and enchanting regions, — where sublime mountains, crest- 
ed with their pine forests, and skirted with verdure, had been 
reflected, in tranquillity, from the placid bosom of the waters 
for ages, since the Austrian had ceased to oppress the Wal- 
stadte ;— these shores that had echoed only to the voice of 
the storm, to the Alp horn, or to the chanted legend of 
the ancient freedom, — now reverberated with the murder- 
ous thunders of war. A dreadful conflict ensued between 
the inhabitants of the valley and the invaders ; but the French 
were vigorously repelled from the border of the lake ; two of 
their vessels were destroyed, and five hundred of their troops 
perished. 

That the poor inhabitants of these once happy valleys, how- 
ever, should long resist the French arms, was impossible. In 
the final conflict, the men of Unterwalden were at length 
overwhelmed by two bodies of troops, which poured down up- 
on them from the opposite mountains, and acted in concert 
with another armament on the lake. In this last crisis of their 
country's fate, the inhabitants of the valley appear to have 
fought almost en masse; and many of the youth, and even of 
the women, joined the ranks, and fell in the field ; where was 
mingled together the blood of fathers and mothers, husbands 
and wives, sons and daughters ! When the sanguinary con- 
flict was nearly over, two hundred men arrived from the can- 



FINAL STRUGGLE. ACT OF MEDIATION. 153 

ton of Schwytz, every one of whom perished, after having 
fought with desperation against the French ! 

An indiscriminate massacre took place on this melancholy 
day : and, the next night, the remorseless enemy fired the 
town of JStantz, the capital of Unterwalden. The neighbor- 
ing villages shared the same fate ; and this lovely and smiling 
valley, so celebrated for the beauties of nature, was converted 
into one universal scene of plunder, rapine, flames, and 
carnage ! Such are the calamities and horrors which the 
heart of man will allow him to inflict on his defenceless fellow 
man ! Such a fiend may man become ! 

Bonaparte, the arbiter of the politics of nations, at length 
gave a constitution to the Swiss, known by the name of the 
Act of Mediation; which was ultimately conformed to the 
wishes of the people and proved conducive to their pros- 
perity. Switzerland now consisted of nineteen cantons, of 
which the equality of the citizens formed the basis ; while 
each canton was more or less democratic or aristocratic, 
according to circumstances. 

The triumph of the allied armies, in 1814, liberated Switz- 
erland from ihe influence of the great modern conqueror ; 
but the change which thus occurred in her destinies nearly 
produced a civil war ; as the cantons were not agreed in opin- 
ion with respect to the constitution that should be adopted for 
the country. The Congress of Vienna, however, saved it 
from the miseries of new revolutions ; and in fixing the bound- 
aries of the countries of Europe, they legislated also for 
Switzerland ; restored her independence ; added three addi- 
tional cantons ; and secured to her the constitution she at pre- 
sent possesses. 

The Swiss Confederacy now consists of twenty-two can- 
tons.* Each of these separate republics has its own laws ; and 
the government is administered by the Landesgemiende the gen- 
eral assembly of the citizens, or the Great Council, which pos- 
sesses the legislative power ; and the Landrath,or Little Council, 
which holds the executive. Neuchatel, however, as belonging 
to Prussia, has a monarchical government, with estates. The 
cantons form, together, a general community, the affairs of 
which are managed by the Diet, which is composed of repre- 
sentatives from the cantons, who assemble in rotation, at Zu- 
rich, Bern, and Lucerne, in July, every two years ; or more 
frequently, if necessary, on the requisition of five delegates. 

The Diet regulates the external relations of the Confedera- 
cy ; or declares war, makes peace, and concludes commercial 
treaties with foreign states. It also has the disposal of the 

* The rnntnn of Baald, however, has recently, as above stated, been 
divided into two, by the Diet, for the euke of peace. 



154 SWISS CONSTITUTION. 

federal army for the general defence, and for the security of 
internal tranquillity. To this force, each canton furnishes its 
proportion ; at the rate of two men out of every hundred that 
are capable of bearing arms. The canton in which the Diet 
is held is, for the time being, called the Vorort, or directing 
canton ; and the Schultlieiss, or governor of this state, is then 
termed the Landamann of Switzerland. The general govern- 
ment, though a legislative, can scarcely be called a delibera- 
tive assembly, and it is considered proper for the members to 
vote according to the instructions of their respective local 
legislatures. There were, in the Diet of 1834, fifty-one mem- 
bers from the various cantons. 

The leading politicians of the country are considered as, at 
present, divided into three parties. One consists of those who 
are averse to all innovation, and these are termed aristocrats ; 
among whom are the members of the Diet, sent from Uri, Un- 
terwalden, and Schwytz. The radical party form another di- 
vision ; maintaining "the principle of proportional represent- 
ation, according to numbers, and anxious for the greater con- 
centration of the government ; this party consists of the mem- 
bers for Bern, Lucerne, Basle-Country, Appenzell Exterior, 
and Thurgau. The middle party incline more or less to the 
other two ; but agree among themselves, in advocating canton- 
al independence ; and it would seem that this division is more 
numerous than either of the others. 



LETTER XI. 

Fall of the Rossberg — Lake of the Four Cantons— Alpnaeh — Valley of 
Sarnen— Saxeln— St. Nicholas de Flue — Alpine Thunder-storm — Lake 
of Lungern — Village of Lungern— Swiss Cottages— The Bninig Alp — 
Vale of Oberhasli— Lake of Brientz— Tracht — The Giessbach— Inter- 
lachen — Grindel wald— The Glaciers— Avalanches. 

My dear Friend : — According to the plan laid down for us by 
our friend at Basle, we were to proceed from Lucerne, across 
the lake, to Weggis ; and thence over the Rigi to Goldau ; 
next, — to Brunnen, and Altorf : then to Hospital, and the Fur 
ka, — a ridge of the St. Gothard, — and celebrated as the seat of 
the glacier, which is the icy cradle of the Rhone ; — also as a 
great storehouse of mineralogy ; no other region of the Alps 
being said to present so great a variety of beautiful specimens, 
as the valleys of this mountain. Our prescribed route next 
proposed to lead us over the Furka, to Meyringen ; and thence 
to Grindel wald. 



FALL OF THE ROSSBERG. 155 

Goldau is a point of attraction, in consequence of the im- 
mense Alpine ruins which are there to be seen, scat ere d over 
a vast tract of country. The fall of the Rossberg mountain 
took place here, in the month of September, 1806 ; and buried 
five or six villages, containing four or five hundred inhabit- 
ants. After a very hard winter, a great quantity of rain had 
fallen, at different times, in the summer. During the day on 
which the calamity occurred, hollow sounds were heard, as if 
proceeding from the bowels of the mountain ; and the fall of 
large fragments of it, seemed ominous of some catastrophe 
near at hand : but the inhabitants of the district appear not to 
have been sufficiently alive to the impending danger. 
t In the evening, the upper part of the mountain was seen to 
sink down; pine forests bowed their ranks ; wonted water- 
courses were suddenly dried up ; and new fissures yawned : — 
the birds flew screaming away ; and houses were torn down 
from the mountain-side to the frightful depth of a thousand or 
fifteen hundred feet. A party had, a short time before, sepa- 
rated on the Rigi ; those who remained on that mountain had 
seen their companions enter the village of Goldau, and in- 
tended shortly to join them there — but the friends had sepa- 
rated to meet no more ! Of Goldau nothing was left but the 
church -bell, which was found a mile ofT. It was almost a 
miracle that any individuals should have been saved from this 
chaos of ruin ; but sixteen or seventeen persons were dug out 
from the edges of the wreck. 

Five miles from the immediate seat of the mischief, immense 
masses of earth and rock were tumbled into the lake of Low- 
ertz, the end of which was completely choked up ; and its 
waters leaped furiously over the island of Schwanau, which 
is in the midst of it, to a height of seventy feet, and swept 
away the houses, with their inhabitants, from the opposite 
shore ; carrying a chapel whk h stood there, built of wood, to 
the distance of a mile. Enormous rocks, the monuments of 
this terrible convulsion, were left strewed over a surface of eight 
or nine square miles, to tell of the desolation, and to warn the 
succeeding inhabitants to watch continually for the first pre- 
monitions of another ruin ; for this catastrophe was preceded, 
for a day or two, by noises and agitations of the earth.* 

♦This was but one instance of the convulsions of nature, in these sub- 
lime and terrific regions. In 1G18, a still more destructive mountain-rail 
overwhelmed the flourishing town of Plurs, situated among the Italian 
Alps, at the foot of Mount Conto. It occurred after heavy rams, and was 
preceded by several unheeded warning.-,— such as the fall of large frag- 
ments of rock from the mountain, in which chasms appeared, as though 
it were cleft m twain ; the cattle ran about in wild dismay ; and immense 
quantities of gravel pourul into the valley from the mountain-side. At 
midnight, a shock wasielt in the neighborhood like an earthquake! and 
a noise was heard like distant thunder. Silence followed,— and in the 



156 LAKE OF THE FOUR CANTONS. 

Finding that the plan marked out for us would involve a too 
rapid succession of fatiguing journeys for the strength of some 
of our party, we determined on another route ; and took a boat 
from Lucerne to Alpnach, in the canton of Unterwalden ; a 
village situated at the south-western point of the beautiful lake 
of the Waldstadte. From the water, the appearance of Lu- 
cerne, with its numerous towers, — lying between the masses 
of the Pilatus, and of the Rigi, is exquisitely picturesque ; and, 
as you advance, the changing scene presents numerous mag- 
nificent points of view. The Pilatus towers nearly six thou- 
sand feet immediately above the lake, which is surrounded by 
this mountain, the Rigi, the Dietschen, the Honberg, the Louer- 
berg, the Burghenstock, the Axenberg, and the Stanzerhorn ; 
this last mountain presents itself at the end of one of the gulfs 
of the lake with a grand effect. 

When the stormy wind, from the mountain gorges, sweeps 
over this ample expanse, and agitates it into tempest, the navi- 
gation of some of the gulfs becomes dangerous ; as in many 
places the rocks rise almost perpendicularly from the lake. 
The little chapels that are seen on the crags and on the shore, 
and one which we passed on a small island, add to the varied 
associations of the scene ; which cannot fail to suggest to the 
traveller the most powerful images relative to the indepen- 

morning the atmosphere was clouded with dust ; — the river Maira had 
disappeared ; and the town of Plurs was soughi for in vain !— it lay buri- 
ed sixty feet deep below the fallen Alp, and almost the whole of the popu- 
lation, amounting to two thousand five hundred souls had perished ! 

The case of one family was exceedingly remarkable, and affecting. 
They fell on the top of a chaos that was in some places a hundred feet 
deep. Francesca, the maid servant, who, with the daughter, Marianne, 
was afterwards rescued from the ruins, affirmed that she found herself 
suddenly whirled round, in total darkness; and carried away, with the 
house, which was of wood. When the motion ceased,- -injured as she 
was, she retained her senses, and heard the moanings of the child Mari- 
anne ; who, in reply to her call, said that she was held down on her back, 
and that she could see a glimmer of light. She asked — whether some one 
would not come and take them out! Francesca replied, 'No, it is the 
day of judgment !' The entombed prisoners then prayed together ; and 
the striking of the clock of Hunenberg convinced Francesca that all was 
not ended in the world,— but that something still remained in existence, 
undestroyed by the convulsion. 

The master of the family, who was not at home at the time of the dis- 
aster, had wandered about in vain in a state bordering on distraction, seek- 
ing for the ruins of his home, amid a scene where every familiar object was 
obliterated from his view. He at length saw a human foot projecting 
from the frightful mass of earth and ruins; ; — on searching, he found his 
wife, with the child Marianne in her arms ! The mother was dead,— but 
the child, having a broken thigh, was saved. Francesca was taken out of 
the earth speechless; and remained for some time blind. She recovered 
her sight, but continued always subject to convulsive paroxysms. Vide 
Goldau und Seine Gegend ; wie sie wa?', und wae sie geworden ; in 
Zeichnungen, tend Beschreibungen. Zurich 1807. 



ALPNACH. SWISS FAKE. 157 

dence of the mountain-born Swiss; of whose oppression and 
emancipation, these waters have been the silent witness : while 
the continued emblems of Romanism, obtruding themselves on 
the attention, among ail nature's sublimities and beauties, end- 
lessly recall the mighty sway of an apostacy, which seems 
invested with a sort of omnipresence. 

After leaving, on the left, Stanzstadt, a village finely situ- 
ated on the border of the lake, we proceeded to the extremity 
of a gloomy bay, and arrived a!. Alpnach, at the foot of the 
Pilatus ; having been about two hours and a half in the boat. 
This place is remarkable for the Slide which was constructed 
here by Rupp, in 18x2, for the purpose of letting down the 
pines from the sides of the mountain. A kind of trough, of 
the enormous length of about eight miles, was formed of trees ; 
its termination being close to the lake. It is said that under 
favorable circumstances, that is in wet weather, trees have 
thus been made to plunge into the lake in less than five min- 
utes. These trees are formed into rafts, on the lake ; and are 
then floated down the Reuss into the Rhine. 

At Alpnach, we found the landlord a very polite and pleasant 
old gentleman, who spoke onty German ; this being the first 
time we had been at an inn where there was no one who spoke 
French. It would seem that, in this part of Switzerland, the 
knowledge of French is still an accomplishment. It appeared 
that the daughter of our host had resided in the canton of 
Neuchatel for the purpose of acquiring it ; but was absent 
from home. The traveller's book was full of humorous eulo- 
gies of the host, his inn, and his daughter ; and we found the 
description of him so just, that we were happy to add our 
meed of praise. 

It is not always easy, when travelling in these parts, to get 
such a supply of food as is suitable for those who, like some of 
our party, had suffered from fatigue and indisposition. The 
bread has always more or less of acidity, perhaps from its not 
being made from yeast ; and the mode of cooking the meat at 
the inns is so artilicial ; there is frequently such a variety of 
heterogeneous messes, cold and hot, put on the table ; and the 
wine is generally so tart, — that a delicate stomach finds it dif- 
ficult to take a sufficiency ol food, without producing disorder. 
We obtained here, however, a tolerable repast ; during which 
our civil host brought us some cheese, which he told us was 
fifty years old. It was in small pieces, and looked exactly 
like chips of deal, having scarcely more taste, and being nearly 
as hard. But it was gratifying here, to recognise a relic of 
the ancient customs of the Swiss. Remarkable events 
families, — such as births, marriages, and sometimes deaths, — 
were formerly commemorate d by the making of a large chi 
of superior quality. In the ease of marriages, the names of 
vol.. VI. 14 



158 VALE OF SARNEN. SAXELN. ST. NIAHOLAS DE FLuE. 

the parties were carved on it ; and portions were eaten at the 
weddings of the descendants, from generation to generation. 
This remnant of simplicity of manners is not yet extinct in 
some of these more remote and mountainous parts of the 
country ; and it is still the practice to set fragments of an old 
cheese before guests, by way of showing them respect. 

We hired a carriage at Alpnach, and in the afternoon pass- 
ed through the beautiful Oberwald, or valley of Sarnen, wa- 
tered by the stream called the Saa, embosomed in mountains, 
and well deserving the distinction it obtained some years ago, 
of being exhibited at the Diorama in the Regent's Park, as an 
example of the beauties of Switzerland. Nothing can exceed 
the rich effect of some parts of this delightful vale, or the ro- 
mantic appearance of the groups of cottages which are scat- 
tered over it. These genuine Swiss houses are built of wood, 
with side galleries ; and with roofs projecting and somewhat 
pointed. The casements are generally glazed with very small 
panes, and protected by a broad ledge which runs above each 
tier : a vine frequently adorns the front of the cottage. 

The chief place in the Oberwald is Sarnen ; situated at the 
head of the small lake of the same name. It was at this place 
that Landenberg, the Austrian Vogt, or Bailiff, of Unterwalden 
resided ; whose cruelty contributed to rouse the spirit of Swiss 
freedom. There is a picture in the Town House representing 
his barbarity, in depriving of sight Henryander Halden, the 
aged father of Arnold of the Melchthal. 

After proceeding along the side of the lake, for about half 
an hour, we stopped at Saxeln to view the church; which is 
much finer than you would expect to find in so remote a val- 
ley. The porch is hung with some curious Romish pictures ; 
and the interior is adorned with a great number of black mar- 
ble columns veined with white, some of which are of one sin- 
gle piece : they are obtained from the quarries of the Melch- 
thal, or Milk- Valley, a neighboring vale abounding in Alpine 
pasturages, In this church are preserved the bones of St. 
Nicholas de Fide, which have attracted many pilgrims to the 
place. He was born in this village, and is celebrated in the 
annals of Swiss patriotism ; particularly for his conduct in 
the war against Sigismond, Duke of Austria. 

St. Nicholas died in 1487. He passed the latter part of his 
life in a cave, situated in the Melchthal ; and the tradition is 
that he was miraculously sustained, during the last eighteen 
years, without food ! A visit to the tomb of a patriot, as such, 
is a laudable gratification of feeling ; but here, every thing is 
converted into superstition ; and in this Catholic canton it is 
not so much the patriot, as the Romish saint, that attracts the 
attention of the deluded multitude : who, for more than three 
centuries, have regarded with religious veneration these re- 



ALPINE THUNDER-STORM. 159 

mains of mortality. We did not stay to see the saint's bones, 
as we found there would be some delay in sending for the 
guardian of these sacred relics ; and we were anxious to get 
forward, as the weather began to threaten. 

By the time we had passed along the whole eastern side of 
the lake of Sarnen, the clouds had gathered into huge, dark, 
and dense piles, towards the south ; and looked like a range 
of dismal Alps, whose snows had been converted into sack- 
cloth, and edged with a lurid border, by the upper rays of the 
sun, which was gloomily eclipsed by these ponderous masses. 
At lengih, we reached the mountain pass forming part of the 
Kaiserstuhl, one of the group which we had seen from the 
bridge of Lucerne. This pass leads down to the lake of Lun- 
gern : and while we were crossing the highest part of it, the 
storm burst on us ; and the fierce glare of the lightning across 
the blackened sky, the appalling reverberations of the thun- 
der, which crashed among rocks and ravines, and the pouring 
hail and rain that followed, gave us such an impression of an 
Alpine storm, that we would gladly have taken shelter in a 
neighboring chalet; but our driver thought it more advisable 
that we should make the best of our way down the descent ; 
and by the time we had reached the head of the exquisite little 
Lungern See, or lake of Lungern, the tempest had abated. 

The road lay along the eastern shore of the lake, which is 
about a mile and a half, or two miles, in length : it is of a deep 
blue color, and is beautifully wooded to the water's edge. 
We reached the solitary village of Lungern between six and 
seven o'clock. This truly rustic little place is situated about 
five leagues southward of Alpnach, in a small romantic vale, 
and is almost entirely hemmed in by mountains resembling 
perpendicular walls, which seemed to hasten on the dusk of the 
evening, by casting their dark shadows over this secluded spot; 
while the perfect stillness of the chilly air added solemnity 
to the scene, — now, every moment becoming more and more 
indistinct ; till, at last, the dark and lofty rampart of the sur- 
rounding mountains did but skirt with a deeper shade the 
universal curtain which night had drawn over the heavens. — 
In the mean time, the goats had been seen returning home in 
flocks ; and it was amusing to observe how sagaciously they 
divided themselves ; and turned off in groups to go, in differ- 
ent directions, to the houses of their respective owners. 

The master of the little inn was an exceedingly amiable 
young man, and did all in his power to make us comfortable. 
Every thing was sufficiently to the mind of hungry and wea- 
ried travellers, excepting that we were a little annoyed in the 
night, by being haunted in our beds with grasshoppers, which 
are here of a very large size. The watches of the night were 
romantically indicated by tho singing of Swiss airs ; and the 



160 LAKE AND VILLAGE OF LUNGERN. 

Alpine horn uttered its voice to call the goats to their wild 
pasturages, when about a hundred of them left the village 
early in the morning, for the mountains. 

We found that we had now got into a region where a little 
German was almost indispensable. A lellow-countryman, 
who had been a guest to our landlord, not having, it would 
seem, made sufficient provision for contingencies, had exhaust- 
ed all his ready cash ; and could not exchange his circular 
notes till he arrived at Lucerne : he had therefore no means 
of paying his bill. This diiemma became ludicrous from the 
host and the traveller being unable to understand each other, 
in a matter requiring some explanation, and in which, in the 
literal sense of the words, the guest could not reckon without 
his host. The latter however no sooner learned how the gen- 
tleman was situated, than he readily allowed him to have a 
conveyance to Alpnach, and to defer payment till he got to 
Lucerne. 

Nothing indeed could be more frank, civil, and obliging, 
than the behaviour of our host ; and we fancied that w r e could 
discern, here, the genuine simplicity of the Swiss manners. 
There was a gentleness and kindness in the behaviour of the 
servant who waited on our party, which was exceedingly 
pleasing. The soul of politeness may certainly be met with 
without its forms : for benevolence needs little aid from bows 
and compliments ; as we often see exemplified in the manners 
of the Friends. These people at Lungern had nothing at all 
rough or vulgar about them ; though this was by far the wild- 
est and most i etired place we had yet seen. 

The odd-looking little church of this village, and the cot- 
tages, having their roofs loaded with large stones, appeared 
in the genuine Swiss style. The roofs of the houses, in these 
parts, consists of layers of wood, instead of tiles or slates ; and 
in some places, a great number of these small flat pieces are 
laid one on another, the more effectually to keep out the rain ; 
the whole being charged with large stones to prevent the roof 
being blown away by the furious storms which frequently 
rage through these Alpine valleys. 

The genuine Swiss cottage is entirely constructed of wood, 
with one gallery, — and, in the superior houses, with more, — - 
running generally along the side of the building. The roof, 
near which the upper gallery is placed, projects far over it, 
so as greatly to shelter from wet the foundations of the house, 
and also the store of cleft- wood, which is neatly piled against 
the side of the cottage. A line of casements opens on the gal- 
leries, and along the front ; and the windows are frequently 
made of very small pieces of glass, and rendered capable of 
being protected against the violence of the wintry storm, by 
substantial wooden shutters. The galleries are hung with 



SWISS COTTAGES. ASCENT OF THE BRilNIG. 161 

some of the produce of the valleys, for the sake of drying it. 
On the front of the cottage, there is very commonly an inscrip- 
tion in German, in the old black letter character, stating by 
whom, and at what time, the house was erected ; passages of 
Scripture, and other pious sentiments, are often added. The 
ornamental carvings in the front have sometimes a rich effect. 
We also observed in the course of our journey, that many of 
the-e houses have a remarkable new appearance, though they 
have stood many years ; and they often exhibit an air of 
great comfort, and even of elegance. The wood soon assumes 
a red fine brown hue. 

We left i,ungern the next morning to ascend the Briinig 
Alp, over which there is a pass ; this being one of the moun- 
tains that separate the cantons of Unterwalden and Bern. Our 
party consisted of eleven persons : two on horseback, with a 
guide to each horse ; one on foot ; and one in a chaise a por- 
teurs, attended by four men. This is a common chair, with 
elbows and a footboard ; and to its sides are fixed two long 
poles. Two men at a time act as bearers ; holding in their 
hands the poles, over the ends of which are slipped strong 
leathern straps that pass across the shoulders of the men ; 
who relieve each other more frequently according as the way 
is steeper and rougher. A boy was also in attendance, to as- 
sist in carrying a few light articles that were not fastened to 
the saddles of the horses. Such was our cavalcade ; and such 
is the mode of setting off to cross a Swiss mountain. 

The ascent began shortly after we had left the village ; and 
those who were mounted soon found that riding on horseback 
was here to be quite a different thing from what it is on the 
smooth, tame roads of level England. Happily the steeds 
were none of the most mettlesome ; indeed, where English 
horses would plunge, and prance, and endanger the lives of 
their riders, or make a determined stop, these Swiss cattle are 
as steady and persevering as can be desired. Nothing ap- 
pears to disconcert them, — neither precipices, nor gaping gor- 
ges, nor the roar of cataracts, nor rocks up which they must 
olten climb from stone to stone, springing and scrambling 
rather than walking. They aie as quiet and gentle as can be 
imagined, so that with experienced guides, a moderate share 
of courage, safe girths, and a firm mode of sitting, there is 
little danger. 

In the course of this ascent, we were continually passing 
alon< r shelves of rocks, bound together with gnarled roots, and 
formed more or less by labor ; but still sufficiently rugged ; — 
and very troublesome, excepting for foot-passengers; who 
alone can go with comfort over these chaotic and extraordi- 
nary roads. Sometimes, whilo huge masses of rock, with tre- 
mendous crags supporting lofty trees, overhung us on one 
14* 



162 ASCENT OF THE BRiiNIG. 

side, — on the other was a deep, yawning ravine, the sides of 
which were more or less covered with firs ; and deep below, 
the concealed mountain torrent was often heard to rush hastily 
over its rocky bed. 

It was easy to account for the ruggedness of our path, when 
we saw crags above us which we were convinced must fall, 
sometime or other. These mountain ruins and desolations add 
not a little sublimity to these scenes ; though they interfere 
so much with the comfort of equestrian travellers ; and ren- 
der it awkward to meet a party coming in the opposite direc- 
tion, which was once our case. It was curious to observe 
how the goats, each with a tinkling bell about his neck, leaped 
with the utmost freedom from rock to rock, looking down upon 
us with much bearded solemnity, but without any appearance 
of alarm. 

Occasionally, as we advanced, the ledges on which we had 
to pass were so narrow, and the depth below so great, that the 
necessity of carefully looking to our footing scarcely left us 
at leisure to admire sufficiently the singular grandeur of the 
scene. Many trees lay prostrate in various directions, some- 
times below and sometimes above the p^th, having been torn 
up by the violence of the storm, or split by lightning, or hurled 
down with the falling crags, or washed away by the impetu- 
osity of the mountain-stream, hastening to find the valley. 
Several unseen cascades, or roaring torrents, mingled the 
sound of their waters with the echoes of our cheerful Swiss : 
who were perpetually singing either the Ranz des V aches, or 
some mountain-song that was altogether new to our ears, and 
of the wildest music. They seemed thoroughly happy, and 
were very civil and obliging, without the least servility. In- 
deed they were disposed to enjoy the day, as much as our- 
selves ; nor had they forgotten their pipes. 

In ascending the mountain, we found that it was inhabited 
by immense multitudes of grasshoppers : and frequently beau- 
tiful butterflies flitted by us. Once our approach roused irom 
its hiding-place a very large bird, which we at first supposed 
was an eagle ; but the guides said that no eagles were found 
here, and pronounced it to be the Ldmmergeier, or lamb- vul- 
ture :— « the Vultur. barbalus of Linnseus ; — or the Gypaetos bar. 
batus of Storr, a name implying its position in natural history, 
as between the vulture and the eagle. This bird often preys 
on the lamb, the kid, and the chamois ; and is said sometimes 
to have attacked young children. 

The variety of this day's journey added much to its inter- 
est : the mountain-summits that came info view, either topped 
with snow, or rearing their bare forms, destitute of verdure ; 
and the chahts, or cots, which here and there presented them- 
selves, formed a scene which was to us altogether novel. In 



0BERHASL1. 163 

the afternoon we arrived on the Col of the Briinig, at the 
toll-house which makes the boundary of the two cantons. Be- 
fore we had reached this spot, the beautiful vale of Hasli had 
disci sed itself, embosomed in the grandeur of its snowy Alps. 
A short descent presents to view the Oberhasli, with the wa- 
ters of the Aar, the town of Meyringen, and one or two cas- 
cades : — the whole scene being sublimely bordered by the 
rampart peaks of the Grimsel, and other mountains. The 
distant Reichenbach fall is also discerned, pouring its waters 
down the Scheideck, opposite to Meyringen. 

Here the Bernese Oberland commences ; and we now be- 
gan to descend into the western part of the valley, the guides 
sometimes halting for a moment to present to us twigs of the 
nut, or the wild cherry ; while the plentiful geranium, — appa- 
rently the Geranium sylvalicum, bordered our path. A des- 
cent of two hours brought us into the valley ; and we arrived 
early in the evening at the little hamlet of Tracht, on the bor- 
der of the lake of Brientz, through which flow the waters of 
the Aar. 

From the window of our room, at the commodious inn, as 
we looked across the lake, which is here probably from two 
to three miles wid^, we noticed the remarkable effect of the 
opposite mountains, topped with snow, and clear above ; but 
belted with strata of clouds below : for the weather, which had 
been fine and very warm in our ascent of the Briinig, began to 
change before we reached the lake ; and a prodigious, black 
cloud was gathering behind the mountains, towards the west, 
— portentous of another storm. The guides, however, predict- 
ed that we should reach our destination before it came on ; 
for, like shepherds in England, these children of the Alpine 
regions are frequently possessed of no small discernment in 
practical meteorology. They were right in their opinion ; 
but soon after our arrival, a heavy storm of thunder, lightning, 
and rain, resounded through the mountains ; and though the 
weather cleared up in the course of the evening, the lightning 
threw its momentary daylight over the Alpine scene, during 
a considerable part of the night. 

At this village, was a great assortment of those little works 
of art, such as chalices, boxes, cottages, and the like, — in 
making which the Swiss so much employ themselves, during 
the long winter evenings. Many of these cuttings out in wood 
are viy elegant ; but the difficulty of preserving unbroken 
such light and fragile articl rprevented us from selecting from 
among ihem sonic mem trials of this romantic lake, and of 
Swi<s ingenuity and industry. 

Betw< : it in the morning, we were comfort* 

ably seated in one of the numerous boats whieh lay moored 
before our window ; and which, forming as they do, the little 4 



104 LAKE OF BRIENTZ. THE GIESSBACH. 

all of some of the cottagers in this sequestered spot, are 
resorted to, especially in the evening, as a sort of rendezvous, 
for chatting, and for knitting. The people at the inn pressed 
us very much to hire a carriage to go to Iterlachen along the 
shore ; but we were afterwards glad that we went by water, 
— on learning that not only was the distance greater, but the 
road very bad ; neither of which facts was stated at the inn. 
We had by no means, however, generally to complain either 
of selfish duplicity, or of exorbitancy in the charges ; though 
instances of both may be found in Switzerland, as else- 
where. 

Leaving Tracht, and Brientz, which lie close together along 
the shore, we were now on the water, surrounded on all sides 
by the commanding mountains, which form a deep basin for 
the lake ; and having in the distance a loftier summit, said to 
be seven thousand feet in height. 

We crossed the lake to witness the magnificent fall called 
the Giessbach, or pouri?ig stream, one of the finest cascades in 
Switzerland. It is computed to be more than twelve hundred 
feet above the level of the lake ; but nothing is seen of it till 
you approach ; as it is hidden behind the projecting base of 
the mountain down which it dashes. It is divided into seven 
or eight separate falls, by the ledges of the rocks from which 
it is precipitated ; and the best view is in front of the cottage 
which stands at the highest part of the foot of the mountain ; 
from which point the effect of the whole is superb. The cas- 
cade issues from a chasm a little below the summit of the 
pine-fringed rocks ; and tumbles foaming from ledge to ledge, 
bordered with groups of trees, which stand ranged beside it in 
its course, as if to grace its descent into the great receptacle 
of the waters that lie expanded below it, in a vast sheet of 
twenty-five square miles in extent, and, in some parts, of five 
hundred feet in depth. 

On ascending higher up the steep mountain, by the side of 
the Giessbach, several paths are found successively conduct- 
ing down to it ; one of these leads to a wooden bridge which 
is thrown across the mountain-chasm, where the waters 
appear like a boiling chaldron : but the most extraordinary 
effect is produced by standing under the fall itself, in a hol- 
low part of the rock which forms a sort of cavern ; — here the 
thunder and fury of the torrent from above, are awfully grand ; 
and it rushes over you with an absolutely deafening roar. 

The Alpine horn now again greeted us, and re-entering our 
boat, we were rowed along the lake, which is between eight 
and nine miles long, by two men, accompanied by a woman, 
who wore the broad Bernese gipsy-hat. We learned that this 
woman was a sort of doctress for the village of Brientz. The 
eyes of one of our party had become inflamed in travelling 



INTERLACHEN. ROAD TO GRINDELWALD. 165 

and on inquiring what medical attendance was to be procured 
at Interlachen, we soon found that these good people had no 
very great idea of regular practitioners. The elder of the two 
men strenuously recommended his wife, and fellow-rower, 
as far more clever in curing bad eyes than any of the doctors ; 
and she herself was exceedingly urgent in offering her servi- 
ces, declaring that she could in a few moments remove the 
mischief, which she was persuaded was occasioned only by 
some loose hairs of the eyelashes having got into the eye ; 
these she offered to take out. Her services, however, were 
not accepted; but we were much amused with this aquatic 
doctress, and with the credit she seemed to have acquired for 
skill to handle the oar, or the eye, with equal facility. 

We arrived at Interlachen about eleven o'clock ; and im- 
mediately engaged a conveyance to carry us to the valleys of 
Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen ; the scenery of which is 
considered as not to be surpassed, on the whole, in any part of 
Switzerland. The road lay through wild and romantic val- 
leys, bordered on each side by lofty mountains, which were 
sometimes entirely perpendicular ; and on our left, rushed, 
with raging impetuosity, amidst huge fragments of rock, the 
broad torrent which rises among the ices of Grindelwald. 

Previously to our crossing this dark and boisterous stream, 
which seemed to tell of its origin at the base of the most sav- 
age Alps, — the road occasionally lay so very near the edge of 
the deep gorge along which it ran, that we were not without 
apprehension of danger ; but the drivers, here, as well as the 
horses, are so much accustomed to slender ledges, and fearful 
precipices, and roaring torrents, that the animals seem never 
to take fright, nor the men to be off their guard, or lose their 
presence of mind. We especially felt the awkwardness of 
meeting another carriage in so narrow a road ; but we came 
to no harm, and thankfully crossed the stream in safety, after 
about eight miles travelling. This torrent was now on our 
right, and we entered on the picturesque scenery of the valley- 
leading up to the village of Grindelwald. The vale is beauti- 
fully green and fertile, bounded on the south by a chain of 
mountains skirted with pine forests ; while, deep in the valley, 
and far below the level of our road, ran the mountain stream. 

As we approached the village, the snows of the ' Silver-Horn 9 
of the mighty Jungfrau glistened in a lovely blue sky, beyond 
the gorges formed by oth r mountains; the whole array of 
which soon began to present themselves stupendously to view. 
On the other side of the nearer mountains, rises the Finste- 
raarhorn, a pyramid of granite, which towers i<> the height of 
thirteen thousand feet auovc the sea. — The first inn we came 

to at Grindelwald was so full, that we could not he lodged 

there ; but we found admittance at tho other : for the great, 



106 GRINDELWALC. 

and annually increasing number of travellers has created a 
supply of accommodations equal to the demand ; and as the 
glaciers, here, are of less dangerous access than in any other 
part of Switzerland, this is a very favorite spot for observing 
them. 

The village of Grindelwald is situated on the declivity of 
an Alpine valley ; and is itself three thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. It is surrounded by mountains of enormous 
height, and of awful grandeur ; several ofwhicliare close to 
the village, and seem almost to impend over it ; others being 
seen to advantage from the immediate neighborhood. North- 
ward, is the Faulhorn, computed to be 8,000 feet high : the 
Scheideck, which shuts in the valley towards the north-east, 
and separates it from that of Hasli, is 6,000 feet : east, and 
south, are— the stupendous Wetter horn, nearly 11,000 feet in 
height; the Mettemberg ; the Great Eiger, upwards of 12,000 ; 
the Schreckhorn, exceeding 12,500; and the Viescherhorn 
summits, which are not far from the same elevation. The 
Schreckhorn, or peak of terror, is so called from its rugged, 
naked, and piky appearance, which gives it a terrific air ; its 
sides not being clothed, but only scattered over with snow. 

The scene from the valley is sublime, bordering on the ter- 
rible ; — for there is a savage wildness in the aspect of several 
of the mountains of this vast group, which rear their tremend- 
ous heads towards heaven, hoary with the snows and ices of 
immemorial time ; and seem to frown on all that is beneath 
them. You are particularly sensible of this impression, when 
the last purple tinge which the setting sun casts on the upper 
regions of these Alps has melted away ; and the cold, pale 
hue, which then lingers, for a while, on the everlasting snows, 
has, in its turn, given place to the dusky veil, which the shad- 
ows of the evening are throwing over the whole outline of the 
mountains; while the bases of the chain have already been 
long enwrapped in a deeper gloom : these gigantic and awful 
forms seem, then, to stand around you like grim and shrouded 
spectres. 

I staid out of doors, anxious to receive the full impression 
of the scene, till it became positively oppressive ; and I was 
glad at last to retire to the homely candle-light of my room, 
which at least had something earthly and familiar about it. Tf 
nature can teach man his own littleness, and strip him of that 
pride to which, in the moral ruin of his being, he is so prone, 
it is from such scenes as these that he may learn a lesson. 
Never before did I realise so fully the force and the majesty 
of some of those passages of Scripture, which speak of the 
Almighty as setting fast, or overturning the mountains ; — touch- 
ing the mountains and causing them to smoke ; — weighing the 
mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance. 



THE GLACIERS. 167 

This is the region of those eternal ices that are among the 
most wonderful of the phenomena of nature, — which are all 
wonderful. The windows of our inn were directly opposite to 
what is called the Lower glacier ; indeed we were somewhat 
above its base, looking down on it, across the valley ; — and be- 
holding now, for the first time, one of those extraordinary natu- 
ral curiosities. This bed of ice faces towards the north, lying 
between the Eiger and the Mettemberg ; and, in its appear- 
ance, having very much the effect of a ravine between the two 
mountains, rilled with chalk, and extending up their sides; its 
whiteness being strikingly contrasted with the dark green firs 
which border it. I took a guide, and proceeded across the 
valley to visit the glacier. From the inn it looked so near, 
that, not being as yet sufficiently aware of those optical de- 
ceptions which are apt to arise in the contemplation of objects 
so much vaster than we are accustomed to witness, I was sur- 
prised to find that it took twenty or thirty minutes to reach the 
spot at the foot of the glacier, where they place a small can- 
non ; which on being fired produces prolonged echoes, which 
die away among the mountains. 

As you approach the ice, the valley is scattered over with 
fragments, which appears to be the wrecks that have, at some 
period, been precipitated down the sides of the two mountains ; 
and the guide mentioned a tradition which exists in the vil- 
lage, that, about six centuries ago, this glacier extended much 
farther into the valley than it now does. The immense masses 
of ice of which it consists, are undermined at the base, by the 
stream of water which contributes to form the torrent we cross- 
ed in entering the valley : this stream continually issues from 
a cavity, which is of the form of a rude gothic arch. 

Vegetation flourishes close to the border of the ice, and 
strawberries are gathered here. This appears extraordinary 
to those who, like ourselves, are unused to see green grass, 
trees, and shrubs, in almost immediate contact with perpetual 
ice, and frozen snow. It is a well-known fact, that some plants, 
which have no odor in the lower valleys, become delightfully 
fragrant at the surprising elevation of nearly seven thousand 
feet : — a beautiful emblem of the human soul ; — which often 
flourishes most in virtue and in usefulness, in the apparently 
an genial element of adversity. The moral winter of the world's 
frown, has turned many minds to nol le purposes, which might 
otherwise have passed their hour on earth, unknown, and com- 
paratively useless: — such were the martyrs of the church; — 
such the English Nonconformists; — Buch were the pilgrim 
Fathers of America. The upper glacier is more to the east- 
ward, and lies between the Mettemberg and the Wetterhorn 
mountains: — but though its surface is broader, its pinnacles 
and crags of ice are not so large as those of the lower glacier. 



168 THE GLACIERS. 

The glaciers may be described as huge beds of ice, of very 
irregular forms, and of various dimensions. They have their 
origin in the alternate and continual partial melting, freezing, 
and consolidation, of the snows which are perpetually falling 
on the higher regions of the mountains. These ices are in a 
state of continual progression towards the valleys ; and project 
more or less into them at different times, according to the 
warmth or coldness of the season, or the pressure from above, 

The shapes of these masses of half-frozen snow, and half 
ice, are indefinitely varied ; as though a stream, tossed with 
tempests, had been in an instant frozen motionless. Some 
masses aid the imagination to fancy a confused mixture of 
towers, and spires, ana pyramids, and rocks of crystal; for a 
thousand strange and fantastic forms glitter in the sun-beam, 
and reflect prismatic rays. Their general hues vary from a 
dusky blackish color, to a beautiful tinge of green or blue. In 
some glaciers, where sudden convulsions have taken place 
from above, a large fragment of rock may be sometimes found 
oddly sustained on the top of a vast pyramid of ice. In some 
places, huge stones gradually penetrate deeper and deeper 
into the mass which they have aided to melt, by their contact 
with its surface in the heat of summer ; thus forming deep 
wells below. Some of these heaps of ice are of a light green ; 
others, in the lower beds, of a dark blue. 

During the winter, a solemn and portentous silence usually 
reigns over these icy mountain-domains : but when spring re- 
turns, there is every where a commotion ; and noises are heard, 
as though a general rebellion were taking place among the 
vassals that have been chained, in frozen fetters, to nature's 
throne. Far and wide among the glaciers, sounds the hoarse 
murmur of the stream that is working its secret way beneath 
the ice ; hollow moanings follow, — that might appal an imagi- 
nation less sensitive than that of those who, like myriads of 
the Swiss, have been nurtured in all the gloom of superstition ; 
explosions are heard similar to the firing of artillery ; — the 
mountain trembles with the wild uproar, and awful chasms 
are rent along these crags of eternal ice, with a noise like the 
crash of thunder to those who are in the midst of the storm. 

It is these yawning chasms which have so often proved the 
destruction of the bold adventurer, who explores these frozen 
regions of terror. In spring the rocky masses that, before, 
seemed bound by the hand of winter in perpetual repose, 
change their position, and vary their forms every hour ; and 
the water, which can find no vent below, suddenly bursts the 
barriers that check its course : a furious torrent rages through 
the ice, and in some cases forms to itself a hideous chasm, a 
hundred feet in height, and nearly as many broad ; and, with 
waters of a palish blue, hurries through the valley to announce 



THE ALPENHORN. 109 

to distant cantons that its prison has been broken ; while, either 
blending with other streams, or tinged with the soil which it 
tears up in its raging course, it sometimes assumes a shade 
which might claim to be that of the fabled Styx or the Co- 
cytus. 

Of these glaciers, not less than four hundred are reckoned to 
belong to the Southern range of the Alps, beginning with Mont 
Blanc : many run between the mountains, to the extent of eigh- 
teen or twenty miles in length ; some nearer thirty ; being 
sometimes from one to two miles broad. The total superficies 
of the glaciers of the southern chain alone, it has been calcu- 
lated, would form a field of ice of between three and four hun- 
dred square miles ! Some of the fissures in these solid 
masses, are hundreds, if not thousands, of feet in depth ! With 
the exception of a small part of the Pyrenees, and some isolated 
spots of Lapland and Norway, travellers inform us that these 
remarkable phenomena are to be found nowhere in Europe 
but in the Alps ; the glaciers of which, are the cradles of migh- 
ty rivers, as the Rhine, and the Rhone, besides many other 
streams. 

At the inn, small slabs of ice from one of the glaciers were 
brought to table with the butter, in order to keep it cool, — an 
humble, but useful application of the wonders of nature in a 
warm day in August. And while here, we could not but ad- 
mire the genuine kind-heartedness of a poor Swiss, of the Pays 
de Vaud, who waited on us. One of our party being ill, the 
keller, or garcon perceived it ; and being much subject to dis- 
order of the stomach, he with great frankness volunteered some 
medicine which he had procured for himself, from his uncle, 
who was a medical man. Had we been willing to accept it, 
he would freely have given us the whole bottle of medicine, 
which he very earnestly pressed, saying with great simplicity 
— Si celafait da bien & Madame, e'est la meme chose que sije le 
prenais moi-mtme. Though the vast influx of travellers into 
Switzerland cannot fail insensibly to operate on the character 
and manners of the inhabitants of the more frequented places, 
it was pleasing frequently to recognise instances of all that we 
are accustomed to associate with the native simplicity of the 
Swiss. 

We were much gratified, towards nightfall, to be serenaded 
by several sweat female voices, singing the peculiar and ro- 
mantic airs of this mountain region. In some part of the Alps, 
the ancient custom still Lingers, of sounding the aipenhorn in 
the evening ; not only as the kuhreihn, or cattle call, — but as a 
salutation id which we may perceive the traces of those devout 
feelings, whiph these Bcenes appear so calculated to cherish. 
When ihe sun had already set in the valley, and his last light 
still clung to the snowy summits, the herdsman who dwelt the 

VOL. VI. 15 



170 MELANCHOLY DEATH OF 

highest up the mountain-side, proclaimed through his horn 
Lobet Gott den Herrn;* which words were repeated by the 
neighboring herdsmen, till all the surrounding rocks and moun- 
tains became vocal to the praise of their Creator, and re-echoed 
the pious anthem Lobet Gott den Herrn. After this, it is said, 
a solemn silence was accustomed to prevail, while all knelt 
down, and uttered, bare-headed, their evening prayer. The 
horn then sounded, through the increasing shadows, the part- 
ing word Gute Nacht,f when all the other horns, and the sur- 
faces of the rocks, responded Gute Nacht ; — which was the 
signal for these children of the Alps to retire to rest. 

Remains of this interesting custom are still to be met with ; 
and similar characteristics of distant times are frequently re- 
cognised by the traveller, in the remoter places, in such saluta- 
tions as Gott grass' euch;\ — Gulen Morgen geb' euch Gott ;\ — 
Gute Nacht geb' euch Gott.\\ The influence of France on Switz- 
erland has, no doubt, grievously corrupted many parts of this 
country ; but traces are everywhere to be seen of a purer and 
more simple age. 

The little church of Grindelwald is Protestant, as is the 
bulk of the population of the Bernese canton. There was 
nothing in the building to attract notice ; but under the porch 
was an object which mournfully harmonised with the awful 
sublimity of the surrounding scenery. It was a gray marble 
tablet with the following affecting inscription : 

Aime Mouron, Minislre du Saint Evangile, 

Cher a 1'Eglise par ses talens et sa piete ; 

Ne a Chardonne dans le Canton de Vaud, 

Le III Oct., 1791 ; 

Admirant dans ces montagnes 

Les ouvrages magnifiques de Dieu, 

Tomba dans un gouffre 

De la iner de glace ; 

Le31 Aoutl821. 

Ici repose son corps, 

Retire del'abime apres 12 jours, 

Par Ch. Burgener du Grindelwald. 

Ses parens et ses amis, 

Pleurant sa mort prematuree, 

Lui ont eleve ce monument. 

Heureux des a present ceux qui meurent au Seigneur. 

Apoc. xiv. 13. 

The simplicity of this plain inscription is peculiarly affect- 
ing. It tells, in few words, the melancholy tale, and leaves the 

* Praise God the Lord. 

t Good night. 

t May God greet you. 

§ May God give you a good morning. 

II May God give you a good night. 



M. MOURON. 171 

imagination to supply the rest. The churchyard was lonely, 
and no human being was near, except the dead. The wildness 
of the mountains that towered immediately above, became 
more deeply impressive ; and they seemed to have an aspect 
of ruthless horror, as they frowned on the sod that covered the 
remains of one who had fallen a victim in the attempt to climb 
their dreadful precipices. In contemplating such a scene, it 
was scarcely possible not to feel the mind recalled from its 
ordinary thoughts, and rilled with a train of solemn and min- 
gled emotions ; which were only interrupted by repeated sounds 
by no means familiar, though distinctly heard ; and somewhat 
resembling slight and distant claps of thunder. These noises 
I concluded must arise from the tailing of avalanches among 
the mountains; and hearing a repetition of the same noise 
while in the common room of the inn, on inquiry, I was told it 
was a lavange, or avalanche ; and that it is common for them 
here to be heard to fall many times everyday. 

These avalanches may take place at ail seasons; for in the 
Oberland it is not at all unusual, even in the summer, as we 
ourselves often witnessed, for snow to fall on the mountains 
during the night ; and to throw a fleecy mantle over their 
lower parts, which were before bare. When this new snow 
falls on the frozen surfaces of former snows, it easily forms 
avalanches ; for the wind blowing on the higher summits de- 
taches successive masses of the recent fall ; and they ace imu- 
late as they descend from ledge to ledge of the sloping rucks, 
till they often acquire an immense magnitude. Men and cat- 
tle have frequently been extricated from avalanches of this 
kind, which had buried them, as the snow is soft and not very 
compact. The sun, moreover, frequently so acts on the gla- 
ciers, in summer, as to produce avalanches of them : vast masses 
of ice are tumbled into the valleys, and have been known 
to be propelled down inclined planes of many miles in length.* 

* Montgomery beautifully compares the effects of the invasion of Switz- 
erland by republican France, in 1798, to the desolations produced by these 
falls; though some parts of the description are more applicable to the 
snow avalanche : 

" By a hundred winters piled, 
When the glaciers dark with death, 
Hang o'er precipices wild, 
Hang — suspended by a breath; 

If a pulse but throb alarm, 
Headlong down the steep they fall ; 
For a pulse, will break the charm,— 
Bounding, bursting,— burying all. 

Struck with horror stiff and pale, 
When the chaos breaks on high, 



172 LAUWINEN, OE 

Sometimes, in the winter season, furious whirlwinds, which 
tear up the rock-planted pine, and overturn the habitations of 
men, will snatch masses of snow from the Alpine summits, and 
drive them along in clouds, liketne sands of the Arabian des- 
erts ; till they fill up immense tracts of the valleys ; and bury 
beneath them the tallest way-posts which are set up to direct 
the traveller. 

In the spring, the enormous heaps of snow that have col- 
lected during the winter, and have been bound together by 
frost, become detached by a sudden thaw ; and the deep si- 
lence of the Alpine villages is broken by the thunderings of 
the avalanches, which re-echo through the mountains. Even 
the solid crags are often torn away by them in their fall ; and 
whole forests, immense quantities of earth, with huge masses 
of rock, and of hard frozen snow, are precipitated together, in 
wild disorder, and hurled with great violence into the valleys ; 
so that houses, and sometimes entire villages, have been over- 
whelmed in sudden and hideous ruin. In a few moments, all 
vestiges of human industry are as if they had never been ; and 
Nature, as though indignant at the encroachments of man upon 
her domains of ice and snow, takes destructive reprisals, as it 
were, on his boldness, with her terrible avalanches, and her 
bursting torrents.* 

In the spring, when there is most danger to be apprehended, 
in consequence of the change of temperature, not only the con- 
vulsions which the air undergoes by means of thunder and 

All that view it from the vale, 
All that see it coming, die ! 

In a day and hour accurst, 
O'er the wretched land of TELL, 
Thus the Gallic glacier burst, 
Thus the Gallic glacier fell!" 

Wanderer of Switzerland. 

* During the passage of a French army over the Splugen pass, at the 
gorge of Cardinell, a poor drummer was carried down into an abyss by an 
avalanche from above : the snow had so far preserved him from being injur- 
ed in falling, that he was able to extricate himself from it i and to beat his 
drum as a signal of distress ;— but it was in vain ! hours elapsed, and the 
sounds were still heard ; but none, alas ! could rescue the poor soldier from 
his frightful fate. 

In the canton of Grisons, which has been especially subject to the rav- 
ages of avalanches, the small village of Rueras was visited with such a 
calamity, in 1749, during the night : but strange to say, the shock was in 
this instance so unfelt at the moment, that, accordingly the testimony of 
about fifty or sixty persons who were dug out of the snow, it was only 
known by the extraordinary length of the darkness, and the morning not 
returning as usual! To about forty individuals it never returned more! 
Similar catastrophes, of greater or less extent, happen in Switzerland 
almost every year. — See Seattle's Views. 



LAVENGES. 173 

storms, but even the least vibration, — such as that occasioned 
by the bells on horses' heads, the crack of a whip, or even 
speaking aloud, is said to have power to bring down an im- 
pending avalanche. On this account, travellers who have to 
cross mountains, often set off very early in the morning, before 
the snow has begun to soften in the sun ; and the guides some- 
times fire a pistol, previously to reaching those spots where 
they know there is most danger, in order to bring the masses 
at once down from the mountains, while the party is in 
a place of a safety. Tremendous noises frequently precede 
the fall of avalanches ; which omen aids the traveller to es- 
cape. Their magnitude is sometimes so enormous that they 
have been known to cover a valley to the extent of three miles 
from the base of the mountain ; and their destructive effects, 
in altering the course of streams, and in causing floods, have 
been felt at the distance of many miles from the place at which 
they were precipitated. 

"Oftrushtng sudden from the loaded cliffs, 

Mountains of snow their gathering terrors roll ; 

From steep to steep loud thundering down they come, 

A wintry waste in dire commotion all ; 

And herds and flocks and travellers, and swains, 

And sometimes whole brigades of marching troops, 

Or hamlets, sleeping in the dead of night, 

Are deep beneath the smothering ruin hurled." 



LETTER XII. 

Valley of Lauterbrunnen— The Jungfrau— The Staub-bach— Interlachen 
— English Chapel— Vicinity of Interlachen — Hofstetler's Pension — 
Awkward situation on the Aarderbcrg— Unterseen— The Jungfrau— 
Road to the Valley of Frutigen— Chalets — Village of Frutigen— Kaa- 
derthal — Kandcrsteg — Advice of Guides. 

My dear Friend: — On leaving Grindelwald, we returned to 
Zweilutschinen, a place so called from the two streams that 
here meet ; the combined waters of which were on our left, on 
the road from Interlachen. One of these torrents accompanied 
us from the glaciers of Grindelwald, and is called the 
Schwartz-lutschin,or black torrent; — the othc", the Weiss-lut- 
schin, or white torrent, flows from the valley of Lauterbruunen ; 
the names of these streams being indicative of their difference 
of color. The valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are 
separated by a chain of mountains; so we retraced our steps, 
and having recrossed the rustic bridge, proceeded towards the 
15* 



174 THE JUNGFRAU. 

latter narrow valley. We were now literally walled in, on 
both sides, by stupendous mountains ; and before us reared its 
mighty head the colossal Jungfrau, which rises from this ro- 
mantic valley to the amazing height of 10,400 feet ; or 12,900 
above the sea. 

This awful mass is more elevated than any of the mountains 
of Grindelwald : and is regarded as the most magnificent of 
all the Northern chain, or of the Helvetian Alps, — the range 
which runs north of the Valais, commencing with Mount Sa- 
netz, and reaching, in a north-easterly direction to the St. 
Gothard ; which is situated between the cantons of Uri and 
Ticino. 

In ascending the valley of Lauterbrunnen, the view of the 
Jungfrau is exceedingly grand. The extreme whiteness and 
brilliancy of the perpetual snows which cover its enormous 
sides, and its vast massy head, — and the towering pinnacles 
which seem to rise from numerous basins and gorges into some 
pure- elemental region, far above all the dark abutments of the 
base, conveyed to the mind an impiession of elevation greater 
than we had before received ; and it was impossible not to feel 
astonishment, in the contemplation ef this vast heap of Alps : 
with such majesty and solidity, do they appear piled up to the 
very heavens. The glaciers of this throne of eternal snows 
should be viewed, we understood, from the Steinberg, a neigh- 
boring mountain ; or from the side next the Valais ; as, from 
these positions, they are seen branching out to an immense 
extent; especially the glacier of Aletsch, which reaches 
upwards of twenty miles in length, and nearly to the Rhone. 

The Jungfrau is such an assemblage of terrific rocks, and 
frightful precipices, that its summit was long supposed to be 
quite inaccessible. Some thirty years ago, an unfortunate in- 
dividual who attempted the ascent, was never heard of more ; 
and was believed to have fallen into some one of the yawning 
chasms on one side of the mountain, and to have perished, 
either by an instantaneous death, or by being carried down 
with an avalanche, so as to linger for a time in an abyss of 
eternal snow, conscious of the hopeless horror of his situation ! 
Un intimidated by this unhappy fate, two brothers named 
Meyer, determined, in July 1811, to obtain the perilous honor 
of planting their feet, where no human being had ever been 
known to tread before. After they had spent one night on the 
ice, their attendants lost courage and returned ; the brothers, 
however, persevered, though almost blinded by the dazzling 
brightness of the snow ; and passed another night still higher 
in this frozen and hazardous region. On the following day, 
they proceeded in the ascent, wearing black veils to protect 
their eyes ; and after intense and perilous labor, they at length 
gained the loftiest snows of the Jungfrau, in a heaven which 



3LAUTERBRUNNEN. THE STAUB-BACH. 175 

they described as of a pure, deep, and cloudless azure. They 
raised a flag on this unearthly spot, and descended in safety. 
At Grindelwald we saw, in the travellers' book, a long ac- 
count of an unsuccessful attempt made, a few days before, by 
a young Scotchman. He and his guides had undergone great 
dangers, and, in their descent, let tnemselves down awful pre- 
cipices with ropes. The attempt was to be made again on the 
following Monday, but as the weather on that day was wet, it 
must have been deferred. 

The village of Lauterbrunnen has an air of considerable 
comfort, and a very picturesque appearance, — being plenti- 
fully ornamented with trees, and enclosed by stupendous walls 
of rocR : its pretty-looking new church gives it a modern ap- 
pearance, which is interestingly contrasted with the surround- 
ing antiquities of nature. The inn at the entrance of the 
village, from Grindelwald, is commodious, and its back win- 
dows command a magnificent view of the piled masses of the 
Jungfrau. Opposite the little church, and on the right side of the 
valley, is the Staub-bach cascade, one of the most celebrated 
waterfalls in this land of the sublime and the beautiful. The 
long line of perpendicular rock, fringed with pines along the 
summit, down which it is precipitated into the valley, resem- 
bles an enormous rampart that might have been reared up to 
defend some Babylon of giants, by a race like those who were 
fabled to have heaped Ossa upon Pelion. 

The Staub-uach descends from a height of about nine hun- 
dred feet. Two slender streams, falling from the top of the 
rock, dash against it, together perhaps about half-way down- 
then blend their waters, and hasten to the valley. The whole 
has an exceedinglv light and airy effect, rather elegant than 
grand, as the quantity of water is but small, compared with the 
vast height of the fall. In the descent, the water is so foamy 
and dispersed, that at a distance, it is like a misty veil hanging 
from the wall of rock, and undulating in the zephyr. This is 
an exquisitely beautiful cascade ; and its name, dust-slream, 
may be derived from its being so much scattered m spray. 
Whether the fall is materially altered in its character by a 
wetter season we did not learn ; but it is easy, in this neigh- 
borhood, to trace the effects of those violent storms of rain, 
which sometimes, on a sudden, swell the streams into raging 
cataracts, that flood the valley, and sweep rocks, trees, the 
dwellings of man. and the fruits of his agricultural labor, all 
before them, in one common desolation. 

On our return to Interlachen, we established ourselves at 
the agreeable Pension of Christen Hofstetter. Tins is one of 
about a dozen, or more, wry respectable boarding-houses ; at 
Which, for the sum of live or six f nines per day, provisions and 
lodging, with every comfort, may be obtained. 



176 INTERLACHEN. 

Probably no spot in Switzerland is so much frequented as a 
rural place of residence, during the summer months, as this. 
Last season, there were, here, in all, seven hundred visitors, of 
whom five hundred were English. The day after our return 
from Lauterbrunnen was Sunday ; and as two of our party- 
were invalids, I went alone to the English chapel ; which is 
part of the ancient Augustine monastery, and nunnery ; situ- 
ated in a spot which is finely shaded by noble walnut and 
lime trees. In 1431, the nunnery was suppressed by the reign- 
ing pope, on account of the disorders and irregularities that 
here took place. The clergyman who officiates during the 
summer, is from the English episcopal church at Nice, — a very 
respectable and excellent man ; and his sermon was decidedly 
evangelical and faithful. The number of the hearers could not 
be less than a hundred and fifty, or two hundred. 

Interlachen, the name of which would seem, originally, to 
have been Roman, is situated, as the word imports, between 
two lakes, — those of Brientz and Thun, in a beautiful valley, 
walled towards the east, west, and north, by mountains ; but, 
on the south, opening into a plain, in the midst of which rises 
a high green hill, which is so easy of access that it is called 
the ' Lady's Mountain.' The Aar, which flows between the 
two lakes, has three bridges over it ; two of these, across its 
separate streams, unite it with the small, ancient, and dilapi- 
dated village of Unterseen ; the name of which signifies the 
same as 'Interlachen.' Immediately over this village, frown 
the bare and stupendous rocks of the Aarderberg mountain. 
The roads which intersect the valley are excellent ; and if it 
were not for the mountains, and the Swiss cottages, you might 
suppose yourself in England ;— so green is this fine umbra- 
geous vale ; and so fertile is its soil. 

An agreeable sylvan walk, of short extent, on the other side 
of the Aar, leads to a promontory which projects into the west- 
ern end of the lake of Brientz ; here are situated the hamlet 
and church of Ringgenberg ; and the ruined tower of an old 
castle embosomed in trees. This scene is singularly pictur- 
esque ; having very much the effect of an island lake ; especially 
in coming in a boat from Brientz. The main road, leading 
from the head of the lake, through the village, is wide and 
perfectly level, with rows of lofty walnut trees on each side ; 
so as to have quite a sylvan, English effect. The road through 
Unterseen, to Neuhaus, on the eastern shore of the lake*of 
Thun, is equally good, and is about two miles long, and almost 
straight. The valley here, also, is rich with well-cultivated 
fields, in every part of it ; and is bordered by mountains, con- 
siderably lower than those which are immediately above In- 
terlachen ; on which, more than once, during our stay, we ob- 
served the newly-fallen snow, in the morning. 



INTERLACHEN. 177 

Indeed this is one of the most picturesque situations in the 
whole country. You are embosomed in mountains ; — near two 
of the finest lakes ; — in a lovely, rich, and fertile vale ; — with 
the snows of the gigantic Jungfrau in view, between the gorges 
of other mountains:— in the neighborhood are Grindelwald 
and Lauterbrunnen, and other scenes of beauty and grandeur: 
so that, here, there is an assemblage, — within a comparatively 
small compass, — of some of the most romantic and sublime 
features of this truly extraordinary country. Add to which, 
there is an English evangelical ministry ; — while almost every 
comfor tis to-be procured in the boarding-houses, that English 
habits can desire ; which is not the case in every part of 
Switzerland. At a little shop, which is called the Public Li- 
brary, Galignani's Messenger is regularly obtained from 
Paris. 

At the table d'hote of our Pension, was a motley assemblage, 
and almost a Babel of langunges. There was a Russian lady 
of distinction, and part of her family, who spoke German and 
French ; a Dutch couple ; a Spaniard ; Swiss, from the 
French cantons ; and fc many English, who everywhere, since 
we had left England, formed the majority of travellers. Great 
decorum prevailed, and we did not observe that any cards or 
dice were introduced, — so commonly to be seen in the German 
inns. There was also arTability enough even among the re- 
served English, to render it probable, that if any one of the 
company had fallen into the Aar at the end of the orchard,— 
the joke might not have been practically exemplified, — of one 
1 Englishman declining to save another from drowning, on the 
ground of not having previously been formally introduced? 

The numbers continually varied ; as on most days, some 
were arriving, and some departing : some returning, to tell of 
what they had seen in their tours ; others setting out to visit 
Lucern, or Thun ; or to ascend the Wengern Alp, in order to 
watch the avalanches of the Jungfrau : or to explore the frozen 
glaciers : — these travellers would be distinguished by their 
mountain costume ; consisting of a light frock and pantaloons, 
a wallet, an alpenstock, or spiked pole,— and, sometimes, a 
pair of sandals with iron spikes, for safety in walking over 
slippery paths. It is not uncommon in Switzerland to meet a 
party of holiday school-boys accoutred in this way ; and 
alping is a favorite amusement with the German students. 

Two days of almost incessant rain, and the indisposition of 
two of our party,* prevented me, during the week of our stay 

* Inlerlachen baa the advantage of the medical skill of Dr. Charles 
Bbersold. This amiable man is very successful, and indefatigable in liia 

profession ; i\n<\, in visiting Ins pauenty, is constantly taking long and 
ti> ;i<i"iipir journeys among the mountains. 



*78 THE AAKDEItBERtf. 

here, from going to any distance ; and I did little but read at 
home ; or walk about the immediate neighborhood ; or watch 
the white, misty clouds which frequently dimmed, and half- 
shrouded the mountains, — giving them that air of mystic and 
spectral grandeur, which is thrown over vast objects, by indis- 
tinctness of outline, and is one among the many interesting 
phases of nature, in this land of sublimities. 

The orchard of Hofstetter's Pension is bordered by the 
rapid Aar, which runs from the lake of Brientz into that of 
Thun. Immediately on the other side of the river, rises the 
Aarderberg mountain ; reaching like a huge rampart all along 
the vale of Interlachen, and terminating in the prodigious 
rocks which overhang Unterseen. This mountain is clothed 
to the very ridge with forests, excepting where the numerous 
Alpine torrents have worn for themselves deep channels in the 
rocks, from the summit to the base. A short ascent leads to 
an arbor ; and higher up the mountain, is a beautiful patch of 
greensward, which is so sleep that it is exceedingly difficult to 
climb : the trouble however is repaid by the beauty of the 
scene which here presents itself. The picturesque village of 
Interlachen lies below : — in front is the Jungfrau, which is 
almost everywhere seen in these parts, in consequence of its 
vastness, and its height: the two Likes are expanded on the 
right and left ; and the beautiful and smiling valley is between 
them : the tout ensemble is magnificent. 

Another solitary excursion in the same direction, on a subse- 
quent day, was not quite so agreeable. Being desirous of seeing 
the prospect from the summit of the Aarderberg, I crossed 
the covered bridge situated at the point where the Aar issues 
from the lake of Brientz ; and having obtained some informa- 
tion from a peasant as to what turns to take, — after some little 
difficulty, on account of the great steepness of the ascent, and 
the intervention of rocks which sometimes rendered necessary 
a circuitous route, — I found my way, through a vast pine-for- 
est to the ridge of the mountain. The view was of the same 
description as before, but more extended ; comprising the val- 
ley on the other side of the Aarderberg, and the mountains be- 
yond it ; including a summit or two capped with snow. 

I walked along the ridge of the Aarderberg, till I came op- 
posite to Unterseen ; and had a commading view of the lake 
of Thun, and of the lofty summits that appear to surround its 
extremity. No one being near, I could obtain no information 
as to the track ; and unfortunately lost myself. Thinking the 
descent would be nearer down to Unterseen, than to return 
the way I came, as the mountain is lower where it overhangs 
that village; and seeing, as I thought, a path, I followed it : 
hut after descending for half an hour, I came to the edge of 
the perpendicular rocks above Unterseen, and found that the 



THE AARDERBERG. 179 

path I thought was human, was in reality only one worn by 
the goats ; and that it was impossible to get down the moun- 
tain that way. I had now left home about four hours, and had 
been fatigued with the ascent ; there was, however, no alter- 
native left but to re-ascend, through the thick forest to the 
summit ; and having gained it, to return by the way I came : 
but I missed the path ; and became entirely confused, by per- 
ceiving a number of similar narrow tracks, leading in different 
directions. 

After another hour's laborious exertion, in attempting, in vain, 
to find my way back to the mountain-top, through the wood ; 
and being by no means easy with respect to my situation and 
prospects — I resolved to change my plan, and instead of either 
ascending or descending, to endeavor, as much as the thickness 
of the forest and the ruggedncss of the rocky soil would allow, 
to keep horizontally along the declivity, in the hopes of coming 
to one of those ravines which, from the valley, I had observed 
running from the top to the base of the mountain. In the 
course of these exertions I became so exhausted, from having 
nothing whatever with me to eat or drink, that I was obliged 
to lie down several times, in order to gain fresh strength. 

At length, I succeeded in arriving at one of the ravines, 
which led down with a very steep inclination to the base of 
the mountain ; and partly by the help of my umbrella, and 
partly by clinging to the roots of the trees which the wintry 
torrent had left bare, — I was able, for a while, to slide down 
the shelving plates of rock, of which this dry channel consist- 
ed , — till I came to a place where the rocks were so steep, and 
the ledges so far apart, that I was compelled to abandon ihe 
attempt to proceed further in that direction. Here I could see 
the river Aar, and the village of Interlachen, with Hofstetter's 
boarding house, immediately under me ; and could hear dis- 
tinctly the dogs barking the men thrashing ; and what would 
have been a mockery of hunger, if the desire of safety had not 
predominated over mere animal wants, I heard the table d'hfite 
bell ring for dinner. Yet there was one other consideration 
more painful than all the rest— it was the anxiety which would 
be felt, especially by one, on my account. I was in a situation 
which admitted of no delay, as it was now getting towards 
evening ; and the bare possibility of having to pass the night 
on the mountain-forest, crossed my mind with an appalling 
force, and caused me to redouble my exertions. 

With considerable additional efforts, I scrambled my way 
through the underwood, on the steep and rugged flank o\ the 
mountain, and at length struck into another ravine,— again 
met with the same difficulty,— arising from the precipitousnesti 
of the rocky channel,— ana again endeavored to make a sweep 
through the wood, round to a lower part of the same ravine. 



180 UNTERSEEN. 

I came to it again, and found that my only way to get upon it, 
was to let myself down between two very steep and narrow 
rocks that led to it ; which, by the help of my umbrella, and 
by clinging to the trees that projected from the crags, I at iast 
effected, not without great exertion, and got on to a mass of 
loose stone and gravel that lay at the base of the mountain, 
which I now reached without much difficulty. A man who 
was passing in one of the little flat boats that navigate the 
Aar, put me across into Hofstetter's orchard, through which I 
was glad to steal into the house ; for my clothes had suffered 
considerably. 

I had been seven or eight hours on the mountain ; and got 
home at last, feeling gratitude to Providence for my preserva- 
tion; and with no other inconvenience than torn clothes, 
scratched and blistered hands, and a wakeful night ; for I was 
too excited to sleep, being continually possessed with the idea 
that I was falling down frightful precipices. One lesson was 
learned by this awkward adventure, — which was, never in 
future, without a guide, to attempt the ascent of even so hum- 
ble a mountain as the Aarderberg is, as compared with its 
snow-crowned superiors. 

The day before we left Interlachen, being the Sabbath, the 
parish-church of Unterseen was open at nine in the morning, 
the usual time of service in the Protestant churches through- 
out our line of travel. The church was full of people; and 
there was an air of devout intelligence about them ; and that 
appearance of personal neatness and comfort, which the tra- 
veller may often observe, as forming a striking contrast with 
what is frequently seen in the rural parts of Catholic districts ; 
though the ancient village of Unterseen itself, has a decayed 
and uninviting appearance, which would disappoint those 
whose associations were formed by the exhibition of it at the 
Diorama. The uniform, black head-dress of the women, made 
of silk and lace, gave a remarkable solemn appearance to the 
crowded assembly ; and had almost the effect of a general 
mourning. The elders of the church, and the magistrates, sat 
in the old stalls which surround the chancel of this homely 
building, and the clergyman wore a black gown with loose 
sleeves and a white ruff round his neck, resembling the dress 
in which the Puritan ministers are frequently represented. 
The sermon was a faithful and affectionate appeal, pre- 
paratory to the Lord's supper, which was about to be ad- 
ministered. 

The Sabbath appeared to be observed, here, with decorum ; 
and the bulk of the population of Unterseen seemed to frequent 
the church. But the attentions which visitors require at the 
boarding-houses at Tnterlachen, probably have an injurious 
tendency on the habits of the people ; as they are so much 



LAKE OF THUN. 181 

occupied in waiting on their inmates ; in this village too there 
is no German church, Interlachen being part of the parish of 
Unterseen. On the way back across the Aar, the glowing 
morning had thrown its radiance gloriously over the snowy 
masses of the Jungfrau, of which a magnificent view presented 
itself from the bridge. It shone in the brilliant sun, towering 
majestically above all the nearer Alps, like a vast throne of 
burnished silver, and had an effect altogether splendid; seem- 
ing well to harmonise with the ideas of triumph, and of glory, 
that are associated with the Saviour's resurrection-morn. 

We went to the English forenoon service, which was ex- 
ceedingly well attended ; and the discourse, both in its doc- 
trine, and its spirit, entirely harmonised with our views and 
feelings : but in the evening, we heard from the same gentle- 
man a sermon advocating the personal reign of Christ on 
earth ; on which subject, the preacher though a young man, 
spoke with much decision. 

On the following morning we left Interlachen, to proceed to 
the Kanderthal, or valley of the Kander. Our road lay under 
the Abendberg mountain, along the south side of the lake of 
Thun, one of the most beautiful in Switzerland; near the 
south-western shore of which, and from five to six thousand 
feet above its level, rise the Niesen, and the Stockhorn. After 
passing the village and castle of Spietz, romantically situated 
at the water's edge, we bade adieu to this enchanting lake, re- 
flecting from its bosom the vast masses that immediately sur- 
round it, and we proceeded to ascend a mountain road. 

During this day's j >urney, among humbler summits, were 
pointed out to us some which belonged to the more gigantic 
of the Alps. The appearance of the snowy peaks of the higher 
mountains, when seen from a considerable distance, is, in 
some states of the atmosphere, extremely beautiful ; they re- 
semble elegant, shadowy cones, afloat on a sea of exquisitely 
pencilled clouds. 

We continued our route along the valleys of Frutigen and 

Kander; and the former part of the journey was through 

scenes of surpassing richness. The verdure and fertility of 

the soil ; the variety and beauty of some of the mountains, 

clad with trees ; the sublimity of others ; and their novel and 

grotesque forms surrounded at their bases every where, with 

verdant fields, and all the richness of Alpine pasturage— were, 

this day, petual interest ; and no journey we 

had taken in Switzerland, Left on our minds a greater impres- 

; of the beautiful and picturesque. The chalets, on the 

i, n litis and occasionally the grazing cattle, 

added life to a i c me of grandeur and loveliness. In this part 

of the r no. Including the adjacent valliesof the 

Oberand Nieder Simmenthal, it is said that the chalets arc up- 

vcl. vi. 10 

<4* 



182 CHALETS. FRUTIGEjn^ 

wards of twelve thousand in number; a mark of the fertility 
of the soil, of these Edens of Switzerland. 

The chalets vary in size, and fitting up, according to the 
wealth of the owner, or the purposes for which they are de- 
signed. They are built entirely of wood ; the walls consist 
of pine trees, rudely hewn square : or even left whole, merely 
having the bark off; and these timbers are usually placed at 
some distance from each other. The roof is constructed of 
thick layers of wood, bound together with rafters, and loaded 
with great stones, as a security against the wind. The smaller 
chalets, of which there are great numbers, are mere rustic 
barns ; where the provender that has been gathered on the 
mountain valleys and terraces, in the summer, is laid up for 
the use of the cattle, during the winter ; or where they them- 
selves are sheltered. In the summer, the cattle are driven to 
the highest pastures ; and some of the lower chalets are con- 
structed of a size to admit of being employed as cottages for 
the cow-herds, with conveniences for making butter and 
cheese. Some chalets are of a superior order to the above, 
being, in fact, snug little houses on the mountain pastures, and 
belonging to those peasant farmers who have saved some 
money. 

No one can pass through Switzerland, without being struck 
with the marks of industry which are perpetually to be seen. 
In all the lower valleys, many of which are, like this district, 
extremely luxuriant and productive, agriculture reigns ; while 
the higher regions that are within the line of vegetation, are 
appropriated to pasturage. The vale of Frutigen has evidently 
repaid the industry of its inhabitants ; as is to be seen in the 
indications of fruitfulness, and the numerous human habita- 
tions, with which it abounds. The vicinity of the lakes of 
Thun and Brientz, must also prove of an advantage to these 
valleys, in respect to transport, which others do not enjoy. 

Frutigen is a superior, and very agreeable village, contain- 
ing good houses, and a comfortable inn ; and commanding a 
view of some of the distant snow-mountains of the northern 
range. Having here recruited, — we next entered the Kander- 
thal, which is a narrower, and less beautiful valley, than that we 
had recently left. The latter part of the road became exceed- 
ingly wild and steep ; surrounded by rocky mountains, with 
falls of water ; while the roaring stream called the Kander, 
was rushing through the valley, on our right. No journey 
had, as yet, interested us on the whole more than this ; — so 
various was the scenery;— so rude and lofty many of the 
mountains ; — so fertile and lively the plains ; — so rich the pas- 
tures for the cattle, especially during the former part of the 
day : — and, occasionally, a ruined castle, looking down upon 
us from a lofty height, told the tale of chivalry of bygone 



THE KANDERTHAL. 183 

times, and blended, in imagination, all that is fierce in human 
passion, with the grandeur and the beauty of surrounding na- 
ture. In short, during this day, several of the scenes were 
exactly of the kind appropriately known by the name of 
Suisse, 

For a. considerable part of the year, some of the streams, 
which we this day crossed, must be wholly impassible by car- 
riages. One of them was an overflow of the river Kander ; 
and in consequence of the rains which had fallen while we 
were at Interlachen, the current was so impetuous, and so 
powerful, that we saw it turn over stones of large dimensions ; 
and the struggling of the torrent against our vehicle, convinc- 
ed us that we were fortunate in having the weight of four per- 
sons in it, besides the driver. 

In the evening, we reached the solitary hamlet of Kander- 
steg, shut in by mountains partly coned with snow ; — a spot 
having a peculiarly desolate aud gloomy aspect, from the bar- 
renness of the whole neighborhood, and the absence of foliage. 
This dreary village is situated at the northern foot of the 
Gemmi, and near the base of the glacier-throned Bliimlis-alp. 
The coldness of the evening air, blowing from the snowy re- 
gions of the mountains rendered the fire in the homely saloon 
of the inn extremely agreeable. 

This little inn, is a complete Swiss cottage, wholly built of 
wood, with a gallery on each side. The accommodations were 
the rudest we had met with. We had been told at Interlachen 
by a courier belonging to a family at Hofstetter's that the 
landlord was a 'perfect brigand;' so that had we indulged im- 
agination, we might have been almost prepared to meet with a 
sort of Giant Despair in this wild and savage wilderness. In 
this representation, however, there might be pique, as is not 
seldom the case between couriers and landlords : for the cou- 
riers often assume great consequence, and are as well served 
at the inns as the families themselves ; as all arrangements 
are generally left to them. We found the landlord not want- 
ing in civility, though certainly rough and unpolished. But 
the night we' spent here, was the oddest that had occurred to 
us. The inn was so full that it was with difficulty all could 
be accommodated ; indeed, some were obliged to sit up ; so 
that talking was heard all night long; and the uproar produc- 
ed by the dragging of beds up and down stairs, doors opening 
and shutting, and the vvholo wooden house creaking, was such, 
that sleep was impossible. 

The rooms were all so near each other, and so thinly board- 
ed, that the annoyances that were met with, became public ; 
and wore announced by some English gentlemen with no 
small degree of merriment : especially was this occasioned 
by the loud complaints that wero heard, towards morning, 



184 ADVICE OF GUIDES. THE GEMMI. 

respecting the devastations which had been committed by 
hordes of fleas. 

We had come to Kandersteg, with the view of crossing the 
Gemmi ; and having heard so much of the terrors of the de- 
scent of this lofty and abrupt mountain, on the side next the 
Valais,— it required courage, in some of our party, who had 
recently been invalids, to undertake so arduous a journey, over 
the most curious and extraordinary pass in all Switzerland. 
But we had ascertained that, with proper attendants, and our 
own precautions, there would be no real danger. The general 
cause of the lamentable accidents that have sometimes occur- 
red to travellers in this country, has been their neglecting to 
follow, in all points* the advice and conduct of the guides ; 
who, as they are constantly traversing the same mountains? 
are necessarily acquainted with all the dangers. 

They always advise travellers who are about to cross over 
the higher regions of the Alps, to start early in the morning ; 
to remember that it is less dangerous to ascend than to descend; 
and to avoid being out late in the evening ; as this is the pe- 
riod when thunder-storms generally come on. They caution 
strangers respecting the hazard of crossing the snow-moun- 
tains before the spring-avalanches have fallen ; or immedi- 
ately after a long-continued season of wet, — when there are 
frequent falls of the masses of rock, which are detached from 
the precipitous crags. They also inculcate the necessity of 
striving, as much as posssible, against allowing a paroxysm of 
alarm to seize you, in travelling along the edge of a precipice ; 
and exhort you to be sure to keep up your spirits, 



LETTER XIII. 

Departure from Kandersteg for the Gemmi. Mannschaft. Ascent 
Schwarbach. Canton of Wallis. Snows of the Gemmi. Dauben See. 
Glaciers. View of the Pennine Alps from the Gemmi. Descent. Ac- 
tivity of the mountain-guides, in bounding along the edges of precipices. 
The Valley. Leuker-Bad. Avalanches. Journey to Leuk. Valley of 
the Rhone. Romantic View of Leuk. Romanism. Charnel-house 
Chapel. Costume. Valley of die Rhone. Sion. Recent Avalanche 
from the Dent Blanche. Goitres. Martigny. Deluge of 1818; Upper 
and Lower Valais. 

My dear Friend : — On the morning after our arrival at Kan- 
dersteg, we set out to cross the Gemmi. The courier whom 
we had seen at Interlachen, had told us that our Kandersteg 
host had two mules, the larger of which was said to be a « stub- 
born, unmanageable, savage creature ;' and was described in 



PASSAGE OVER THE GEMMl. 185 

no measured terms, and with epithets not by any means limited 
to terrestrial imagery. This had put us on our guard ; and to 
avoid the possibility of having as a companion over such a 
mountain, an animal of so bad a character, care had been taken 
the overnight, expressly to order ahorse. In the morning, howev- 
er, a large mule was brought out, ready saddled, and it was evi- 
dent from the description, that this was the identical animal 
respecting which we had been cautioned. Fortunately, it so 
happened that there was still a horse in the stable ; and in a 
few moments, at half-past six o'clock, the whole party, consist- 
ing of seventeen persons, and the horse, was in motion towards 
the mountain. — which rises abruptly from the end of the 
valley. 

To avoid fatiguing the late invalids, we had two chaises d, 
porteurs, which the men carried, by resting the poles on their 
shoulders ; and not, as before, in their hands. Six trtiger or 
bearers, are required, two at a time, to each chair, for this la- 
borious pass : and these twelve men, and a boy who assisted in 
leading the horse, on which one of the party was mounted, and 
in carrying some articles, completed the number of our mann- 
schafU as they term it. The horse led the way ; next followed, 
the chaises; then myself; as usual, on foot. The appearance 
of these guides was wilder and more grotesque, than that of 
those who conducted us over the Briinig, almost every one 
wearing a nightcap instead of a hat, and each being, as usual, 
furnished with his tobacco-pipe. They were in high spirits ; 
and began the march along the end of the valley at a good 
pace, singing the remarkably wild notes of their mountain- 
songs, under a bright and unclouded sky. 

Having crossed a small stream, we soon reached the foot of 
the Gemmi, and began to ascend the only part of the moun- 
tain, that, for about three months of the year, is not covered 
with snow, which, on the remaining parts, is perpetual. A 
very steep and rugged ascent, consisting sometimes of the 
rudest stair-case, as it were, of rocks, from which we looked 
down on the valley of Kander, lying at an immense depth be- 
low, brought us, after two hours' labor, through a narrow pass 
of fir-crowned crags, and by the side of tremendous precipices, 
to the commencement of the extraordinary scenery of the 
Gemmi. Tracts of wild and dreary desolation, often with no 
visible path, lav before us; and around, were snowy peaks, 
from which the fall of the avalanche repeatedly reached our 
cars. Vet a few chalets, some cattle, and a hut or two, at the 
•nt of this Alpine region, testified that nature 
yield thing, even here: where during: the greater part 

of the year, frost and snow bind up all tilings under their 
wintry dominion. 

It was interesting to see climate and situation marked by 
16* 



186 PASSAGE OVER THE GEMMX, 

the successive productions of the vegetable kingdom ; from the 
shrubs of the mountain-base, to the hardy pine which shadow- 
ed its sides, and the low heath that vegetated on the barren 
undulations of some of the higher parts ; — till, in the region of 
eternal winter, the ice and snow began to wrap all things in a 
glazed and impenetrable mantle. 

The inhospitable pastures of the Gemmi are bestrewed with 
strong vestiges of Alpine convulsion : the avalanche has left 
the traces of its devastating fall ; and near the cottage-inn call- 
ed Schwarbach, rocks, heaped in chaotic confusion one upon 
another, indicate the ruin of a mountain ; which, at some pe- 
riod, is said to have occurred here, to such an extent, that it 
was overthrown to its base. While passing over these deso- 
late plains, the men did not fail to sing, with a sort of frantic 
glee ; and to shout, in tones so extraordinary, that we all 
agreed it would be difficult to imagine how any one could ut- 
ter such sounds, who had not been used to imitate them from 
childhood : we supposed that the war-whoop of the Indian 
must be something similar. They did this, as they said, um die 
Echo zu wecken;* and, in one instance, five or six notes were 
distinctly repeated by the mountains. 

The little solitary hut of Schwarbach is, now, only inhabit- 
ed during three or four months of the year ; for, throughout 
the long winters that here reign, the snow deeply covers the 
whole neighborhood. About ten years ago, the master of this 
cottage, having remained in it till the winter was too far ad- 
vanced, was buried under the snow for twenty days, with a 
Very scanty supply of provisions ; amid the thundering of ava- 
lanches, and the constant dread of death. In the attempts that 
were made, from the neighboring valleys, to extricate him from 
his perilous situation, a party were very near perishing by an 
overwhelming avalanche from the Altels, one of the adjacent 
hoary mountains ; which is seen rearing its pyramid of eter- 
nal snow, on the left, from the gloomy abyss of the Gasteren 
Thai. 

Schwarbach was an acceptable resting-place, and furnished 
an agreeable repast of coffee, and milk ; for the wine was too 
sour : — the guides, however, preferred it to our fare. On our 
entering the cottage, a young man who was taking a meal, 
rose from the table, and was so attentive to our wants, that we 
at first thought he was the landlord ; we soon perceived, how- 
ever, that he had the tonsure. Like all the priests we had met 
with, he seemed to make it a part of his profession to be cour- 
teous and polite. The policy of Rome appears sometimes to 
excel the principle of those who see her errors ; and she is 
wise in her generation, and often proves a gainer by her skill. 

* To awaken the echos. ; 



PASSAGE OVER THE GEMMI. 187 

We were reminded, by this circumstance, and by the showy 
prints of the Madonna which hung on the walls, that we were 
now in the Catholic canton of the Wallis, or Valais. 

After refreshment, and about an hour's rest, our guides pro- 
ceeded with renewed alacrity ; and seemed to acquire spirits 
in proportion to the elevation we had attained. As we pur- 
sued the rocky, slaty path, the sterility of the scene became 
more striking ; and the air felt exceedingly cold, after the 
heat and exertion of the earlier part of the ascent: — indeed 
we found that we had exchanged summer for winter, having 
reached the height of nearly 7,000 feet. We here passed over 
several patches of half-frozen snow, which had drifted, or per- 
haps fallen in avalanches, from one of the hoary peaks which 
are based on this rocky and dreary plain, and are covered 
with snow down to its level. Snow also filled the cavities of 
several of ihe neighboring rocks. On the highest part of the 
pass, is a dreary lake, about a mile in length, called the Dau- 
ben See, surrounded by hollow rocks, siiuated at the foot of 
snow-mountains, one of which is called the Rhinderhorn. This 
lake is fed from the neighboring glacier of Lammern, which 
descended from another snowy cone on the right ; and the 
chilling, searching air, that breathed on us through the icy 
gorge which lies between this peak, and the glaciers of Strou- 
bel and Retzli on the south-west, rendered it easy to credit the 
testimony of the guides, — that these Alpine waters are frozen 
during about three quarters of the year. 

The lake has no visible outlet on this wintry plain, but is 
believed to supply a distant valley-stream, by subterraneous 
communication : — some have suspected its origin to be volca- 
nic. The road runs close by its gloomy brink ; and the guides 
were so full of glee that it seemed advisable continually to 
caution them; but they uniformly replied there was no dan- 
ger, and furchien sie nicht was reiterated continually through- 
out the day. Their merriment was sometimes so great, that 
in order to meet the wishes of our party, it was necessary oc- 
casionally to request them to make less noise; they were al- 
ways perfectly good humored, and for the time, complied. 
Indeed the impressive silence and barrenness of the higher re- 
gions of ih'' Gem mi, and its snowy peaks, tend to inspire the 
tnger with feelings of deep seriousness and awe; and the 
rice of these hoary chroniclers,— the representa- 
of immemorial time, is fell almost to render boisterous 
mirth a sacrilege against the majesty of Nature, in her most 

sublime domains. 

At length, an opening between the mountain sumn 
sented a ne: — and the Southern, or Pennine chain of 

Alps, burst into view, from the other sideofthe Valais, and far 
beyond the waters of the Rhone, like an impregnable barrier, 



188 DESCENT OF THE GEMMI. 

between the inhospitable clime of Switzerland and the paradi- 
sian plains of Italy ; rearing in the blue horizon its pyramids 
of pure eternal snow ; among which, proudly claimed pre- 
eminence, — the Dent Blanche ; — the Matterhorn, the slender- 
est needle of all the Alps, piercing the azure vault to the 
height of nearly 14,000 feet above the sea ; — and the more stu- 
pendous Monte Rosa, second in altitude only to the arch-giant 
Mont Blanc itself. 

The fleecy summits of these mountains were beautifully 
contrasted, in a clear sky, with the shadows from which they 
seemed to emerge, and with the darker masses that were near ; 
and the whole effect was truly sublime. The impression in- 
stantaneously and powerfully felt, was — that, after all we had 
seen, of snows and glaciers, the grandeurs of creation, in these 
regions of wonder, were far from being exhausted ; — Alps on 
Alps were still in reserve, in the boundless store-house of na- 
ture ; and chaos after chaos seemed to rise on all sides, in this 
remarkable country, to testify to the majesty and omnipotence 
of the Creator, and the insignificance of the puny creature 
man ! 

1 Who first beholds those everlasting clouds. 
Seed-time and harvest, morning, noon, and night, 
Still where they were, steadfast, immoveable; 
Those mighty hills, so shadowy, so sublime, 
As rather to belong to heaven than earth- 
But instantly receives into his soul 
A sense, a feeling that he loses not, 
A something that informs him 'tis an hour. 
Whence he may date, henceforward and for ever ? 

To me they seemed the barriers of a world, 
Saying,— thus far, no farther !' 

Such scenes tend to raise the mind, for a moment, above 
earth ; — to awaken thoughts of awe and wonder, and to fill the 
soul with emotions unutterable by language, and before unfelt : 
— but how soon are other, and far different associations, intro- 
duced ! There is perhaps scarcely a mountain in this coun- 
try, accessible to the foot of man, that has not resounded to 
the murderous sound of arms. Often have the pure snows of 
Switzerland been dyed with the blood of her bravest sons ; 
and her towering summits, destined by nature only to witness 
the storms ©f heaven, have re-echoed to the skies, the thunder 
of war. The mountain-plain we were now crossing, rugged 
as it is, has not only been the scene of the march of troops ; 
but strange to say, about sixty or seventy years ago, in a civil 
commotion among the two bordering cantons, pieces of heavy 
artillery were actually dragged down the frightful precipice 
of the Gemmi ! 

To this far-famed descent we were, all on a sudden, sum- 



DESCENT OF THE GEMMI. 189 

moned. A terrific ledge now presented itself, looking down 
into an awful abyss of some thousands of feet in depth ; be- 
yond which lies stretched along, the rich valley of Leuk, a 
part of the Upper Valais. It is difficult to describe the tre- 
mendous appearance of this perpendicular wall of rock, which 
leads from the top of the Gemmi to the bathing-place called 
Leuker-Bad. The horse, and the men, were now immediately 
relieved of their burthens, and we began, slowly and careful- 
ly, to descend this appalling precipice ; each one holding the 
arm of a guide. The men also offered to us their spiked poles, 
used by those who traverse the higher regions, whether as 
hunters, or mineralogists or general explorers of the wonders 
of nature. It may be added, that nothing can be more stu- 
diously civil and obliging, than the attentions manifested by 
these sons of the mountains, — especially to ladies, in an expe- 
dition, so novel, and apparently somewhat perilous, though to 
the guides, familiar. 

The load has been partly hewn, and partly blown by means 
of gunpowder, with incredible labor, out of the solid rock. It 
was begun about a century ago, by the Bernese and the Val- 
lais combined ; and they finished it in five years. The face 
of the mountain is so nearly perpendicular, that from the top 
you perceive nothing but a few yards of the descent before 
you ; and, in no part, do you see the way below you, to any 
farther extent. It is no exaggeration to say that here the con- 
sequences of one false step would be dreadful to contemplate; 
for, as we proceeded along the ledge of the rock, we were con- 
tinually coming abruptly to the very verge of the abyss, and 
making sudden turns, with a sharp angle, so as to describe a 
zigzag path on the face of the rock ; one part of the narrow 
way leading directly under the other, and at each turn bring- 
ing into full view enormous flanks of the rocky mountain, of 
hundreds of feet in depth; while, above us, rose vast masses, 
over which we had before passed. 

Wo were occasionally annoyed, by one or two of those of 
our night-capped attendants who were not employed in assist- 
ing us in the descent, bounding, with great rapidity, by us, 
with their alpenstocks,* after the manner of chamois hunters, 
on the side next the precipice, and on its extreme verge ; 
though to us there appeared barely room for a third person. 
This gave some of (/in- party such a thrill of horror, that we 
red the vaulters to desist. Sometimes the rock was hal- 
i form a sort of gallery, projecting a little up- 
wards on the side next the ab] 9, and conveying the idea of 
;— at other times, we were on the bar Iter- 

* The spiked poles. 



190 LEUKER-BAD. 

nately hemmed in by the walls of rock, and looking down 
upon the beautiful valley. 

On the side of the mountain, on the left, against the bare 
perpendicular face of the rock, was pointed out to us a sort of 
sentry-box, at which a military watch was stationed by the 
Bernese, in the time of war between the two cantons. It ap- 
peared astonishing to think how any human being could get 
at so frightful and perilous a spot, and spend days and nights 
there ! — -The last half-hour of the descent was less difficult, as 
we were now come to paths of earth, at the base of the rock : 
still however the precipices continued, for a time very steep. 
At length, after accomplishing this most extraordinary pas- 
sage, some miles of which are worked out of the rock, we 
reached the valley ; having occupied about two hours in the 
descent, which is said to be nearly two leagues in length. 

We were now at the base of the mountain ; and on looking 
back, the scene was impressively grand. The head of the 
valley appeared shut in by an angle formed of stupendous 
walls, composed of solid layers of rock, propping, as it were, 
the very heavens, whose glorious azure rested above them ; 
and to scale such a rampart seemed a task utterly impossible 
to man ; for, at Leuker-Bad, we could see no trace of the path 
along which we had travelled. The whole appeared above 
our heads, as one prodigious inaccessible barrier, frowning de- 
fiance on the humble valley ; and we felt inclined to wonder 
how we could have descended such a prodigious, and almost 
perpendicular wall ; — and still more so, to think how it was 
possible to form a road down it ! But what will not the art 
and labor of man accomplish ! He has scaled the most ter- 
rific Alps, to make himself a path to commerce or to conquest; 
- — and, led on by curiosity or science, has planted his footsteps 
on the highest cloud-piercing summits, before untrodden since 
the creation. In a certain sense, what the Roman poet said of 
man, is literally true, — that nothing is too difficult for him to 
attempt :* — it is in the affairs of eternity alone that his powers 
seem paralysed ; — to aspire to spiritual good, — to labor for that 
which endureik to everlasting life, is a work which evidently has 
little attraction for him, by nature ; and the moral wreck and 
ruin of his being is strangely conspicuous, amidst the most 
splendid monuments which bear witness to his enterprise and 
his genius. 

After seven hours and a half of travelling, from Kandersteg, 
we arrived at Leuker-Bad, or the baths of Loesche ; when the 

* Expertus vacuum Daedalus aera 

Pennis non homini datis : 
Perrupit Acheronta Herculeus labor : 

Nil mortalibus arduum est : 
Coelum ipsum petimus — ; 



AVALANCHES. 191 

figure of a priest, at the entrance of the village, and a high 
cross on the outside of the little church, betokened the differ- 
ent destiny of this canton from that of Bern : for while the lat- 
ter seemed everywhere to bear traces of the genial influences 
of the Protestant religion, the Valais is as conspicuously under 
the dominion of Romanism; and in few parts of Switzerland, 
perhaps, has it more deeply left its impress. 

This elevated part of the valley, which is immediately under 
the Gemmi, is sometimes covered with snow so late as the mid- 
dle of July. Upwards of a century ago, an avalanche almost 
buried the little rustic town of Leuker-Bad ; and within these 
few years, it was deserted by its inhabitants, through the dread 
of a similar catastrophe, from the accumulated snows on the 
mountains. During the same winter, Biel, a village in the 
eastern part of the Valais, near the base of the Finster-aarhorn, 
was destroyed by a terrific avalanche, which is said to have 
fallen down a descent of four or five miles from the place 
at which it was first precipitated. 

Leuker-Bad, in itself, can boast of few charms ; for though 
the baths are of great antiquity, and are much frequented, the 
exposure of the place to these Alpine desolations, has tended 
to produce in the minds of the inhabitants a feeling of insecu- 
rity, unfavorable to improvement. The town therefore has a 
considerable appearance of poverty : some new buildings, 
nevertheless, were going forward. There is a tolerable inn, 
which seemed to be also a boarding-house for the accommo- 
dation of those who come here to use the baths, or drink the 
waters, that issue from several very hot springs ; and are said, 
in their analysis, to resemble those of Bath. The cottagers 
avail themselves of the overflow of the waters for the washing 
of linen, as we observed from the window of the inn ; opposite 
to which was constructed a kind of reservoir. The large hot 
bath, designed for the invalid poor, is also at a short distance, 
where they bathe publicly, in brown dresses, and cut a very 
strange figure. 

After we had paid and dismissed our guides, a group of them 
came, holding out their hands to us, and gave us a hearty 
shake ; stating their own gratification in having conducted us, 
and that they were desirous of knowing whether we had 
thought well of their conduct : — on being assured that we were 
quite satisfied, they seemed delighted, gave us many good 
wishes, and, in high spirits, left us. 

We left the baths to proceed to Leuk, in the valley of the 
Rhone, about four o'elock,-— with two mules, a hors<>, and three 
guides; one of whom was a woman. We had supposed that 

the ground, after sueh a descent from the Gemmi, would be 

nearly level ; but in this we were mistaken. The distance is 
ten or twelve miles and is almost one continued nigged de- 



192 FEOM LEUKER-BAD TO LEUK. 

scent ; sometimes on the brink of deep, and tremendous streps. 
This latter part of the day's journey was exceedingly fatigu- 
ing ; but we were amply repaid by the grandeur and beauty 
of the country ; which, though of a totally different character 
from the dreary and terrific sublimity we had left behind us, 
was of a most interesting description. The road soon opened 
on the most romantic mountain scenery, rich in vegetation, 
with deep ravines on our left. Near the baths, is the singular 
village of Albinen, situated aloft on the Letchberg rocks ; from 
which a communication with the valley of Leuk has been 
formed, by means of a series of ladders. 

Often, the road became very precipitous and disagreeable 
for riding, and rugged enough even for the pedestrian. Some 
of the ravines, along the ledges of which we passed, were 
perfectly tremendous. The sides of these yawning abysses, 
however, were richly clothed with the dark foliage of lofty 
firs ; and, occasionally, the turbulent, foaming torrent was dis- 
closed in the depth below. By the side of one of these gulfs, 
was a small chapel with a showy figure of a saint. Indeed 
Popery, in the Catholic cantons, seems to reign over mountain, 
vale, lake, and torrent; and there are few situations, in which 
you are not reminded of the wide and disastrous dominion of 
a system, which looks even more artificial and grovelling than 
usual, amidst the simple majesty of nature. 

Leuk is situated on a chalky rising ground, in the valley of 
the Rhone, which now opened to us. The view of this 
place, on approaching it, is imposing and romantic, in the ex- 
treme. The antique turrets of its castle, once an episcopal 
fortress, give it a most picturesque air ; carrying back the 
fancy, in a lively manner, to the days of feudalism and chiv- 
alry : and the white cliffs of the mountains which bound the 
valley, skirted with the dark shade of the pines ; the streams 
that rush in different directions to swell the rapid Rhone ; the 
novelty of the objects ; and the varied associations connected 
with looking down upon the magnificent high road, which 
leads over the Simplon into Italy : — all conspired to throw an 
aspect of romance over the whole scene. Within a few hours' 
ride of Leuk, the Italian frontier begins, and we almost longed 
to see the classic plains ; but though our route had been left 
open when we set out, we found that we had already planned 
quite enough work, without touching this attractive land ; 
and had there been no other consideration, the apprehension, 
that was felt in these parts respecting the cholera, which was 
said to be at Turin, and even to be feared in Savoy, would 
have deterred us from proceeding. The kindness of two Eng- 
lishmen, whom we had met with at the Baths, and who ar- 
rived at Leuk before us, had already secured for us the best 



LEUK. 193 

accommodations the inn could afford ; and we were comforta- 
bly lodged. 

The town of Leuk proved to have been, like many other 
things, deceptive when viewed at a distance. It is but a mean 
place, with little claims, in itself, to attention, though the ap- 
proach to it is so imposing, and trie scenery of the neighbor- 
hood so singular and striking, especially on account of the 
course the Rhone pursues, between lofty calcareous moun- 
tains. In the morning, we visited a chapel, the walls of which 
were lined with an immense number of skulls, and other bones ; 
the whole having a very gloomy and ghastly appearance. 
The place is fitted up with an altar in mourning ; but we had 
not time to inform ourselves of its history. It might, however, 
be, that the churchyard in which the chapel was situated, was 
too full, and required to be thus relieved ; for a great number 
of human bones lay scattered on the surface of the ground, in 
a disgusting manner. 

The altar seemed designed for the benefit of the departed : 
for the Romish church claims a dominion not less gigantic 
and absolute over the dead, than over the living ; and can un- 
lock, at her will, the gates of purgatory. A wife, a brother, a 
child, a husband, a father, a friend, — may, it is believed, be 
suffering unheard of torments in the purgatorial fires, — endur- 
ing all the ingenuity of torture that the malice of devils can 
inflict : — who then can be happy, while any pecuniary re- 
sources remain, without purchasing masses for the dead, that 
may deliver them from these agonies ] Thus does Popery 
haunt the imagination of the devotee, not only on his own ac- 
count, but also in reference to his deceased relatives. 
Witness the horrble representations which the traveller al- 
most everywhere meets with in Catholic countries, of miser- 
able naked wretches, with doleful expression of countenance, 
encircled by the fierce and spiral flames of purgatory ; and 
tormented by demons, and various horrid inhuman shapes ! 

On looking into the church, which presented nothing re- 
markable, excepting the charnel-house, we perceived that the 
young woman who had attended on us had taken the oppor- 
tunity of leisure, to repair to her devotions, — a lesson often 
taught by Catholics to those of a better faith. Her attire was 
a specimen of the costume of the Valais; which is marked by 
a hi , tastefully arrayed, consisting of a hat of I I 

silk, or velvet, with festoons of very wide ribbon n 
crown. 

One would suppose that the i rol- 

ling into the Catholic church ith an ai 

y on the riles, and relics, which thcs< pie 

are taught to think so holy, must tend* in some measure, to 
d them to reflect. They mi. t least, now the 

vor.. vt. 17 



194 valley of the rhon£. 

tercourse of nations is so great, what once they were scarcely 
aware of, — that all the world is not under the subjection of the 
priests. No effort is made, generally, to prevent strangers 
from walking about the churches, during service ; and even 
while mass is going on, a gratuity will suffice to give you a 
sight of all that is curious. 

From Leuk, the road lay along the valley of the Rhone, for* 
about thirty-six miles, to Martigny, in the Lower Valais. The 
Rhone has its cradle in the glacier of Mount St. Gothard, in 
this canton ; and the stream flows from north-east to south- 
west, through the whole length of this magnificent valjey. A 
level, and excellent road, runs parallel with the Rhone, some- 
times on one bank, and sometimes on the other ; and notwith- 
standing the Alpine magnificence of the scene, it was easy to 
perceive that this was quite a different track from any we had 
been in, since leaving the roads in the neighborhood of the other 
mighty kindred stream, the Rhine. The increased pace of 
travelling ; the occasional equipages that were either hastening 
from Italy, or proceeding in the contrary direction, undeterred 
by the reports respecting the cholera ; the ponderous diligence 
which met us on its way from Geneva to Milan ; and the carts 
of merchandise, or those belonging to the peasantry, and 
sometimes drawn by oxen, that were passing between the 
to vvns of this remarkable valley, — all united to give a charac- 
ter to this fine, hard road, different from that of any one on 
which we had as yet travelled in Switzerland. 

The scene in every part of this extraordinary day's journey, 
was truly grand and imposing. The valley is fenced in, on 
both sides, by huge mountains, and lies between the two chains 
of the sublimest Alps ; the bright summits of which sometimes 
came into view, beyond the neighboring mountain-ramparts. 
This valley, — the Vallis Pennina of the Romans, — is the long- 
est of all the valleys of Switzerland ; extending nearly a hun- 
dred miles, from the glacier of the Furka, on the border of the 
Valais, to the lake of Geneva. As you travel during many 
hours, along this noble region, the effect is magnificent : you 
are accompanied at every step by the waters of the Rhone, 
which perpetually receives the tributary streams that find 
their way through the ravines of the lofty mountains on the 
right and left, on which the remains of towers and castles oc- 
casionally look down from the heights. 

Three hours brought us to Sitten, or Sion, the ancient CM- 
tas Sedunorum ; — now the capital of the Valais, and a place 
of singularly picturesque appearance. The valley is here 
broad ; and from the midst of it, close by the town, rise three 
high, and insulated rocks. The loftiest of these, called Tur- 
beln, is surmounted by the ruins of the ancient episcopal 
palace ; on the next, which bears the name of Valeria, stand 



valley of the Rhone, sion. 195 

the remains of the old cathedral : and on the third, called Mey- 
erburgh, is the present residence of the Bishop of Sion, erected 
in 1574. These crowned hills have a very romantic effect. 
The Rhone runs near the town, which is built on the Sitten, a 
stream which merges in the great river, and has its source in 
the glacier of the Geltenhorn. The sheltering mountains 
render the climate of this neighborhood so mild, that the rich- 
est fruits grow in Ihe open air ; and great quantities were ex- 
posed for sale, at an exceedingly cheap rate, in the spacious 
and imposing main-street which runs through the town. 

The valley of the Rhone seems to be the seat of a deep and 
debasing superstition. The ornaments in the churches are often 
of the most tawdry description, with a great air of poverty. 
In one of the churches at Sion, we noticed a shocking figure of 
Christ on the cross as large as life, with the effects of the 
scourging represented. The body is covered with knots of 
gore, almost like bunches of black grapes, and the whole had 
a sickening effect. In this part of Switzerland are to be seen 
many of these tragical exhibitions: they generally include 
the crown of thorns, the temples streaming with blood, and 
the flesh extensively lacerated at the side, and protruding, so 
as to represent the effect of the spear ; the whole being daubed 
with color in imitation of blood and gore ! Before these 
images you will often see groups of people, of all ages, bend- 
ing with the utmost appearance of devotion. 

While dining at the inn at Sion, an English gentleman, of 
whom there were several at the table, gave us an account of 
the avalanche, which had lately fallen, on the road from Mar- 
tigny to Geneva ; and respecting which we had heard many 
reports. It had descended near St. Maurice, from the moun- 
tain called the Dent du Midi; and had carried down 
with it, an immense quantity of the surface of the moun- 
tain ; so that the valley was bestrewed, to the extent of a mile 
or more, with stones and earth, and the high-road washed up 
and rendered impassable. Fifteen hundred men were said to 
have been employed in repairing the mischief, to make a pas- 
sage for the diligence. 

The peasantry of this whole valley are often hideously de- 
formed by the goitre, which is sometimes nearly as large as 
the head of the individual. To render these huge wens less 
conspicuous, these unfortunate people often bandage the neck 
With folds of black silk. We observed, here, and in the can- 
tons of Lucerne and Bern, numerous instances of this truly 
afflicting; disorder. It is frequently accompanied with idiocy, 
which is Baid to exist more in Switzerland, especially in the 
Vulais, than in any other part of the world. Various views 
have been entertained respecting the cause, or causes, which 
produco goitre ; but the opinion seems to prevail, that it is to 



196 MARTIGHtf. 

bo traced to the calctuff, chiefly carbonate of lime, which is 
held in solution in many of the springs used for drinking. 

As we advanced towards Martigny, with many miles of the 
flat straight road before us, the end of the valley appeared 
shut in by mountains ; on one of which is a tower. Near 
Martigny, the valley widens, but is not much cultivated, as the 
land is exceedingly marshy. It now takes a turn to the west- 
ward, and the Rhone hastens to pour its waters into the lake of 
Geneva. The little town of Martigny is supposed to be the 
Octodurum mentioned by Caesar, and is situated on the 
Dranse, which here falls into the Rhone : above the town, on 
a rock, stands the tower of the castle of La Bathia, one of the 
ancient fortresses of the Prince-Bishops of Sion ; and fearfully 
associated with the terrors of the gloomy dungeons, and the 
secret tribunals, which tradition attaches to the days when 
temporal and spiritual tyranny were combined, to hold the 
world in chains. Martigny stands at the extreme end of this 
part of the valley of the Rhone, surrounded by an amphitheatre 
of high mountains ; the torrents from which, render the soil 
extremely moist. 

In 1818, a deluge from the valley of the Dranse, which runs 
into that of the Rhone, nearly swept away the whole town. 
The inhabitants were surprised to find that the waters of the 
Dranse were dwindling almost to nothing : it was ascertained 
that the bed of the river, in a narrow defile, had become 
choked up to the enormous height of four hundred feet, by the 
fall of avalanches and glaciers from the neighboring moun- 
tains ; and that behind this vast mass of ice and snow, the 
Dranse had collected, so as to form a lake of a mile and a half 
in length. Notwithstanding the Herculean exertions that were 
used, in attempting to make channels for the water through 
the ice, the mischief increased ; and the waters, at length, burst 
forth with incredible fury, and a terrific roar, in a torrent a 
hundred feet deep, which drove everything before it, for the 
space of thirteen miles, — rocks, ice, trees, bridges, houses, and 
cattle ; — and in about an hour and a half it had reached Mar- 
tigny, a distance of upwards of twenty miles. About four 
hundred cottages were swept away, and many lives lost. 

It is this valley, that was the consecrated scene of the pious 
and apostolic labors of the evangelist Felix Neff. Oberlin, 
and Neff, were kindred spirits ; and their histories are among 
the most interesting pieces of biography, which the annals of 
Christian benevolence can present. 

The Grande Maison, at which we were lodged, at Martigny, 
is a commodious inn, with open corridors ; and appears to 
have been a convent ; of which the steeple remains, and some 
of the rooms are very curiously and antiquely vaulted and 
carved. The church, here, is in the usual showy, tarnished 



THE VALAIS. 197 

style ;~and contains one or two gory figures of Christ, similar 
to those we had previously remarked. 

By some means, the inhabitants of this neighborhood have 
not obtained the credit of being a very industrious community. 
Indeed the people of the Lower Valais, in general, are regard- 
ed as a distinct race from those of the Upper, or eastern part 
of the canton, near the source of the Rhone. The latter are 
probably of Teutonic extraction, and speak German : the in- 
habitants of the Lower Valais, or those who dwell westward 
of Siders, a place through which we passed between Leuk and 
Sion, are a mixed race, — supposed to have been originally 
Celts, Gauls, Burgundians, and Romans. Every one who has 
the least pretension to education, in this part of the Valais, 
speaks French ; but the language of the inferior class is a com- 
pound of French and German, with a mixture of Latin and 
Italian words. The people are said to be in a state of great 
ignorance, in consequence of the want of schools ; and are 
very much under the dominion of the Romish priesthood ; nor 
do they by any means make the most of the land on the bor- 
ders of the Rhone, for the purposes of agriculture, and pas- 
turage. The population of the Upper Valais bear a character, 
among travellers, in some respects superior to that of their 
neighbors, for industry, and the love of freedom. 

The country of the Valais itself, is remarkable for the diver- 
sity of its animal and vegetable productions, and for the 
variety of its climate : the harvest being earlier in some parts 
than in others, by three or four months. It is the paradise of 
botanists, as its Flora contains many rare species ; and its val- 
leys and mountains, are the nursery of plants that are seldom 
to be found, elsewhere, in the same country ; and which exist, 
apart, in different regions of the earth. To the entomologist, 
the mineralogist, and the geologist, the Valais is scarcely less 
interesting. 

In the fifteenth century, the people of the Upper Valais con- 
tended for superiority with those of the Lower, in a bloody 
war ; which ended, after many battles, and much desolation, 
in the subjugation of the Lower Valaise, by their more power- 
ful neighbors. The restoration of peace to Europe, in 1815, 
added the Valais, together with Geneva, and Neuchutel, to the 
Swiss cantons. 

It is remarkable, that while a Romance patois is spoken in 
the plains and valleys of the Lower Valais, the language of 
the mountaineers approximates nearer to the German. A 
similar diversity between the inhabitants of the valleys, and 
those of the mountains, exist in other Alpine regions. 
17* 



198 THE FORCLAS. 



LETTER XIV. 

Ascent of the Forclas. Trient. The Tete Noire. Savoy ; the Valor- 
sine. Romanism. Sight of Mount Blanc. Valley of Chamonix; 
Glaciers, deTour, d'Argentiere, and Des Bois. Chamonix. Moonlight. 
Sound of Avalanche. Mont Blanc Ascents. Ascent of Montan- 
vert. The Mer de Glace. Chamois-hunting. The Bouquetin. 

My dear Friend : — Before leaving Martigny, it was necessary 
to determine which of the two routes should be taken, over the 
mountains, into Savoy ; — that of the Col de Balme, or the Tete 
Noire. The former is regarded as the most desirable for the 
view it furnishes of Mount Blanc ; while the latter was said to 
be in itself, by far the most picturesque and interesting course. 
The strength of our party, however, was to be considered ; and 
as the road over the Col de Balme was pronounced by all the 
travellers, whose opinion we had opportunity of asking, to be 
the more steep and fatiguing, the Tete Noire was fixed on ; and 
to cross this pass we started in good time in the morning, 
three being mounted on mules, each attended by a guide. 

Not for from Martigny, is the cross at which the road turns 
off £0 the left, leading into Italy, over the great St. Bernard, 
This mountain is celebrated for the noble dogs which are there 
reared, for the purpose of extricating the lost traveller from 
the dangers of the snow. These dogs, which seem to be great 
favorites with everybody, are often seen, both in the valley of 
the Rhone, and in the canton of Bern. 

We were now ascending the steep Forclas ; which rises from 
the valley, to the height of nearly four thousand seven hun- 
dred feet above the sea. The finest chesnut, walnut, apple, 
and pear-trees, lined each side of the narrow road, which was 
also bordered with many cottages and gardens. The morning- 
was very hot, and the dry weather had rendered the road 
dusty ; the flies tormented the mules greatly ; and they were 
glad to walk very fast up the steep ascent ; — which rendered 
the journey to a pedestrian very fatiguing. 

The views of the Rhone-valley, from some parts of the ascent 
of the Forclas, were characterized by peculiar grandeur. Mar- 
tigny lay stretched out below ; and the silvery Rhone appeared 
winding amidst an amphitheatre of mountains, with an empur- 
pled back-ground of higher Alps, crested with the purest 
snow ; among these was the Gemmi, towering proudly above 
the road we had traversed the day before, which now looked 
like a whitish line drawn along the valley;" while the whok 
17* 



THE FORCLAS. THIENT. 199 

scene possessed a vast and solitary magnificence. We reached 
the highest part of the passage, after travelling about three 
hours, and a cold blast from the glaciers of Savoy, produced a 
wintry chill tnat was perfectly contrasted with the dust, and 
the oppressive heat, of the sun-exposed ascent. 

Another half-hour brought us to Trient, a hamlet situated in 
a deep gorge ; — and now some of the snows of Savoy greeted 
the eye. Not far from this little hamlet, a road leads off to 
the left, over the Col de Balme ; but the path to the Tete 
Noire descends into a small valley, surrounded by mountains, 
with a hoary peak, the parent of the glaciers of Trient, part of 
an immense chain of ices, enthroned at the south-west end. 
At the cottage-inn a delicious repast was soon in readiness, con- 
sisting of bread, milk, honey, coffee, potatoes, butter, and, ac- 
cording to the ancestral custom, some old family cheese : two or 
three interesting little children, also, presented some of the 
flowers of their Alpine vale. The master of the house, on be- 
ing asked the exact time of day, ran to a rising ground before 
his door, and said it was noon ■ by the mountains,' whose sha- 
dows here answer as a natural dial. 

The road now began to wind along the gloomy and roman- 
tic pass of the Tete Noire ; which is truly grand, solemn, and 
imposing. A woody ledge, with an awful, dark, and precipit- 
ous ravine, on the right, in the depth of whose shades could be 
traced the busy mountain-stream, led into a labyrinth of rocks 
and wood. The precipices were sometimes frightful ; and the 
torrent foamed along their bases, at the depch of five or six 
hundred feet : but the worst places were guarded by a rude 
parapet of poles. Above-head were enormous masses of pine- 
crowned rocks, heaped one on another, as if by some tremen- 
dous convulsion, forming gloomy defiles, never irradiated by 
the sun-beams. The great quantity of wood gives to this pass 
a character decidedly dark and umbrageous; and the travel- 
ler is, sometimes, immediately under the roots of the loftiest 
pines; while, below his feet, lie shelving forests composed 
of trees of equal height. 

The mules appeared quite at home in the most rugged and 
awkward parts of this extraordinary road ; and the guides 
seemed to have a perfect mastery of their business, and were 
at leisure frequently to gather the wild strawberry, or the 
Alpine blossom. 

spot, a gallery has been blown through the solid rock 

for a distance of many yards ; and, at the approach to tins 

; impended fearfully over th • pi ih ; \\ bile, 

a ning gulf of 

id with a frail, ru ng: on the other side of the 

>w } interposing valley, were enormous mountains. Further 

. or Balms huge detached fin - 



200 THE TETE NOIRE. 

ment, which an English Countess bought of the government 
of the Valais, in 1«21, — it is said, for three hundred francs, in 
order to have it marked with her name ; which is accompanied 
with a very sentimental inscription, in such doggrel English, 
that it must certainly have been written by a foreigner. 

The road was often so rocky, and so close to deep ravines, 
or so artificially patched by trunks of trees, somewhat loosely 
laid along, that it appeared dangerous to ride, — or rather to 
attempt to spring, and scramble along ; and those of the party 
who were mounted, got off and walked ; as the worst places 
seemed much less formidable on foot. It is no easy task to 
convey an accurate idea of the changing scenes of this remark- 
able pass ; — but one uniform character pervades every part of 
it : — it is a mazy labyrinth, threaded by a circuitous winding 
path of many miles, traced as in mid-air, between heights and 
depths ; among rocks, pine forests, and glacier streams ; while 
the whole scene is so darkly shaded, as to have an aspect of 
impressive solemnity. 

In the exit of the passage, and on the border of the Valorsine, 
you come to a spot marked by those convulsions, which so 
frequently happen in these elemental regions, — by means 
either of avalanches of snow, or of rocks, or the fury of those 
sudden torrents, which, at some seasons, sweep with irresisti- 
ble violence dowa the mountains. Opposite to the path, many 
fine trees had been torn up by the roots, and scattered in every 
direction, on the mountain-slope, owing to the recent fall of 
an avalanche. 

Having left the jungles and ledges, the shady glens, the 
dark deep abysses, and the over-hanging crags of the gloomy 
Tete Noire, the traveller enters a sylvan scene, exactly like 
an English copse, with a greensward path. The vale of Va- 
lorsine lies before him, and he passes the fall of the Eau 
Noire, a stream that flows from the broad and lofty mountain 
culled the Buet, on the other side of the valley. An arch 
thrown across the road, now announced our entrance into 
Savoy, part of the dominions of the King of Sardinia. 

The wild and wintry valley of Valorsine is sometimes choked 
up with snow to a late period of the spring ; and is singular, 
in a country where all is so remarkable, for its mixture of the 
picturesque and the wild, — the waterfall, and the frowning 
rock, — and for the ravages of the avalanche., — which have 
sometimes threatened to bury the little church and village ©f 
Valorsine beneath the falling mountains of snow. This neigh- 
borhood, too, has been thought to exhibit one of the rare cases, 
among the Alps, of volcanic agency ; but the appearances are 
considered by many to be equivocal. 

Throughout the whole of this day's journey, might still be 
witnessed the sedulous care, with which the Catholic church 



THE VALORSINE. 201 

associates the rites and symbols of her worship with every va- 
riety of nature's scenes. All along the road over the Forclas, 
and through the valleys, — excepting the wildest parts of the 
Tete Noire, — there were constantly, either crosses, or little 
chapels, containing a Christ, a Mary, or a saint ; and in several 
of them it was inscribed, that the Bishop of Sion had granted 
thirty days' indulgence to all who should say five pater-noslers, 
and five ave-marias, at these sacred stations ! This meritorious 
act, is supposed to diminish the number of days, during which 
purgatorial pains are to be endured, by those who do not die 
in mortal sin : — no wonder that so many devotees are seen 
counting their beads, and kneeling before these shrines ! What 
other practical tendency can the doctrine of indulgences pos- 
sess, than that of proving an opiate to the conscience, and a 
license to sin? 

It is not surprising, that so impious an assumption of power 
as that which is exhibited by the church of Rome, in pretend- 
ing to remit the punishment due to sin, should exemplify it- 
self in flagrant violations of all the rules of morality : — it 
was this that was a main occasion of the Reformation by 
Luther. 

Some parts of the Valorsine exhibit much cultivation, and 
there were considerable quantities of flax growing. Toward 
the south, on the approach to the termination of the valley, 
hardy-looking cattle were grazing on the rocky pastures, with 
bells on their neck. This appendage is commonly attached 
to cows, goats, and sheep, in these Alpine valleys, which are 
enlivened with this wild music ; and the herdsman is led, by 
the sound, to the spot where the wanderer may have strayed, 
The scene here becomes strikingly wild and dreary ; and the 
wind felt exceedingly cold, as it blew, in a westerly direction, 
from the ices of Chamonix. On this side of the Valorsine, 
rise the mountains of Buet, Loggia, and Berard. 

What was most interesting in the passage through this val- 
ley, and that which all had been anxiously looking forward to, 
was the announcement from one of our guides, when we were 
near Valorsine, ■ he Mont Blanc /' the singularly white sum- 
mit of which now appeared on one side of the end of the val- 
ley, above the huge mountains that are piled around this King 
of all the Alps. Much as the traveller may dwell, for weeks, 
on the thought of seeing this mountain, a thrill of enthusiasm 
comes over him on first beholding it, — at the idea that he is 
gazing on the highest point of earth in all Europe. 

The first sight of Mont Blanc,— from the Valorsine, at least, 

— Bcarcely equals the expectations that we arc accustomed to 

oeiate with it. Excepting the extreme whiteness of its snows, 

its effect, from this point, is not remarkably striking ; its head 

being rounded, and some of its satellite mountains appearing 



202 MOOT BLANC. 

not far inferior to it in elevation. Yet as you gaze on it, there 
is a grandeur, and a sort of repose, in the simplicity of its as- 
pect, bearing some analogy to what we sometimes feel, in con- 
templating the highest order of moral and intellectual great- 
ness, in connection with that perfectly unpretending, and un- 
obtrusive manner, which seems to be natural to it. 

Farther on, the Aiguille du Midi, a piked summit, which 
rises from the vicinity of the central mountain, comes sub- 
limely into view ; and, to the left of the rest in the chain, the 
Aiguille Verle. In the descent towards Argent ie re, the vale of 
Chamonix gradually revealed itself. On the left was the Col 
de Balme, the iron cross at the top of which was visible from 
the Valorsine ; and before us was the huge mass of mountains, 
consisting of Mont Blanc, and the other towering piles, which 
rear themselves in the immediate vicinity, as in homage to the 
monarch Alp ; or as defending that central throne which con- 
sists of domes of everlasting snow ; while the tinted lights, and 
the shadows of the declining evening, threw over the scene the 
most impressive relief; and exhibited to advantage the dark 
masses of frowning rock, as contrasted with the unsullied pvk 
rity of the vast regions of snow, 

"The sun has sunk behind tke brow, 
The giant-height of proud Mont Blanc, 
Gilding its glorious crown of snow, 
With his last beams— while all along, 
From peak to peak, each trackless height 
Reflects rich hues of vivid light, 
That o'er Chamouni's valley fall, 
One bright resplendent coronaf. 

And Summer's cheering short-lived powery 
Sheds o'er the vale its genial spell, 
While all around, eve's witching hour 
Is greeted by the vesper bell. 
That knell perchance the hunter's ear 
May reach, amidst the glaciers drear, 
In some wild chasm, where his prey 
Has lured his venturous steps astray/ 

The Glacier de Tour lies at the head of this sublime valley ; 
and further on, where the road descends from the Col de Balme, 
at Argentiere, a village so called from a mine containing silver, 
is the glacier of the same name, flanking a part of this enor- 
mous Alps, like a bed of crystal, embosomed in forests of pine. 
We now descended into the valley, and arrived opposite to the 
Glacier des Bois. This is a sort of continuation of the Mer de 
Glace, which lies above it, in a concealed mountain-gorge. 
From this glacier, rushes the Arveiron, out of a gloomy chasm, 
in an extraordinary rock of ice, the accumulation of ages ; 
gome parts being of a cerulean blue, and others dark and Sty» 



MONT BLANC. 203 

gian : on the top of this rugged arch stand huge pyramidal 
and mis-shapen masses, ready to bo precipitated by the in- 
creasing pressure from above. 

Avalanches of ice, attended with tremendous explosions, 
which re-echo like thunder among the mountains, are occur- 
ring at this spot, continually, during the summer; when the 
imprisoned waters, formed by the melting snows and ices, 
burst forth anew, undermine the mass, and bring down enor- 
mous fragments of the glacier : — indeed, but for the midsum- 
mer suns, the whole valley would be one vast field of ice. 
About fifty years ago, as our guides infoimed us, three travel 
lers imprudently ventured to fire a pistol within the entrance 
of this icy cavern ; when, through the vibration it occasioned 
an immense fragment was immediately shaken from its poise, 
and fell on the unhappy party, one of whom was crushed to 
death, and the other two were severely injured. 

Fortunately, the weather was so fair, during the whole time 
of our stay at Chamonix, that all the summits of the mountain, 
presented themselves to view, cloudless, — though travellers 
sometimes remain here many days, without having a glimpse 
of the higher regions of Mont Blanc. The evening of our ar- 
rival was clear, though chilly; the bare, snow-streaked peaks, 
which form the outworks of this vast citadel of snows and ices, 
on the side of Chamonix, resembled pyramids with jagged, saw- 
like edges, — or enormous gable ends ; and the mighty central 
domes, with their well-defined contours, and interjacent wastes, 
— all of the purest snow, — were slightly tinged with the pale 
red of the setting-sun, and seemed to reach the skies ; — while 
shadows were already resting on the lower gigantic masses, 
and on the vale beneath them. The front of the Union Hotel 
looks immediately across the valley, towards the mountain; 
and opposite, at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile, 
ran the range of awful peaks, threatening to overwhelm every- 
thing below. 

The hotel, — which is but one of several, in this once seclud- 
ed, but now frequented spot, — is a place of excellent accom- 
modations, and is admirably conducted by the active, oblig- 
ing, and businesslike hostess. About forty persons sat down 
to dinner, of whom the majority were British. Our guides 
over the TVto Noire, now applied to us to sign their books, and 
to state our opinion of their conduct. One youth had been 
allowed to accompany them for the first time; and being thus 
in hi* noviciate, was highly grateful for our testimony, written 
in his book, that his attention and care, manifested during the 
journey, gave the promise that he would become a "good 
guide." Character La everywhere of moment ; and here, it Is 
a little fortune to a poor man to be well acquainted with the 



204 CHAMONIX. 

mountain passes ; and to have the credit of being a careful 
and obliging conductor. 

On looking out, late in the evening, we found that the moon 
was illuminating the summits of Mont Blanc ; though her orb 
itself was hidden behind the mountain, and her light had not 
reached the valley. The mighty range of Alps that was op- 
posite, acquired superadded solemnity and gloom; this whol'j 
line being cast under a deep, dark shade, and but dimly seen,— « 
looking almost like the stupendous wall of another world 5 
while the snowy plains and solitudes of the upper regions of 
the vast mass, reflecting the moonlight, were covered, as with 
an icy shroud, and seemed to be a perfect emblem of all that 
was cold and trackless. 

{ The sweet moon flings 
Her pallid lustre on the hills around, 
Turning the snows and ices that have crowned, 
Since chaos reigned— each vast untrodden height. 
To pearl, and silver.' 

A peculiar, confused, and stifled sound, at midnight, when 
all else was silent, testified that an avalanche was falling, some- 
where, in the neighborhood, among the mountains ; which fact 
our guides to the iVier de Glace, on the following morning, con- 
firmed, 

'Perchance a gale, from fervid Italy, 
Startled the air-hung thunderer ; or the tone 
Breathed from some hunter's horn ; — or it may be 
The echoes of the mountain cataract, thrown 
Amid its voiceful snows, have thus called down 
The overwhelming ruin.' 

If the beauties of nature speak to the heart of man, of the 
benevolence of the Creator, these colossal Alps seem the ap- 
propriate emblems on earth, of the almighty power, of which 
they are such impressive and awe-inspiring monuments. Yet 
these are but parts of His ways ; — these mountains are insig- 
nificant compared with the earth ; and the earth itself is but a 
point in the universe. But these gigantic masses produce their 
effect on the mind, as being majestic images of infinite power ; 
and the sentiments which the contemplation of them awakens, 
would sometimes be mingled with terror ; did we not reflect 
that the Creator has announced his good-will to man, through 
the Redeemer; and that the most awful attributes of the Eter- 
nal One, conspire to promote the everlasting felicity of those 
who are reconciled to Him. 

The valley of Chamonix is three thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. It runs from north-east to south-west, and is 



CHAMONIX. MONT BLANC. 205 

eleven or twelve miles long ; and from half a mile to a mile 
in width. It is shut, in, on the north-east, by the Col de 
Balme, which is four thousand feet above its level: and on 
the south west by lower mountains. The winter lasts for 
seven months of the year ; during the greater part of which 
time, the valley is covered with snow. In the summer, the 
climate is variable ; for though the mean temperature, at this 
season, is seldom more than ten or eleven degrees below that 
of Geneva, yet a strong hoar frost will sometimes be seen in 
July. The soil is fertile, and verdant, being well watered ; 
but fruit-trees do not much thrive. The Gentiana Major 
may be seen growing close by the glaciers. The Arve, which 
rises from the Col de Balme, runs through the valley. 

Mont Blanc, and its tribuiary mountains, stretch along the 
south side of the valley, about five or six miles; and on the 
north, is Mount Breven, and the range of the Aiguilles Rouges. 
At Chamonix, you are too completely under the mjghty mass 
of Mont Blanc to have the full effect of it. The summit is 
computed to be distant from the vale about six miles, in a 
straight line ; and is so far behind the immediately neighbor- 
ing abutments, and yet seems so connected with them, that 
you do not, by any means, gain the full impression of its ele- 
vation, — which requires a more distant view. 

The central granitic mass, rises to the amazing perpendicu- 
lar height, ot about two miles and a quarter above the vale ; 
surrounded by the calcareous mountains which lie like but- 
tresses at its base, clothed with forests of larch and fir, to the 
elevation of thousands of feet. These forests border those 
wonderful icy gorges, the glaciers, including, besides those 
already mentioned, that of Taconay, — and, nearer to the vil- 
lage of Chamonix, the magnificent glacier of Buissons, with 
its dead-blue pyramids and rocks of ice. The bases of the 
mountain are crystalled, in different directions, with no less 
than eighteen of these glaciers, some of them from twelve to 
eighteen miles in length. The chamois, and the wild goat, — 
some live specimens of which are exhibited in the museum of 
the village, — browse near the borders of the glaciers, and at 
the base ot the regions of perpetual snow. 

Mont Blanc is computed to be nearly three English miles 
above the level of the sea; and the extent of snow which 
crowns it, has determined its name. It is estimated that the 
ices which reach to Chamonix, lie up the gorges and Bides of 
the mountain, to the height of 8,000 feet perpendicular; and 
that the snows of the: upper parts occupy an additional space 
of about 4000 feet; making an extent of 12,001) feet or ice 
and snow, not including the irregularities of the surface. 
Travellers say that the south side of the mountain presents a 
rugged and terrific aspect ; being more abrupt, and less cov- 

vol. vr. 18 



206 MONT BLANC. 

ered with snow : — but from Chamonix, it gradually rises 
above the surrounding mountains, till it first terminates in a 
point called the Aiguille, or Dome de Goute ; beyond this, is a 
valley of snow, from which rises the Middle Dome; another 
sweep, still higher, leads to the extreme, rounded summit ; 
which is named La Basse du Dromedaire, from its supposed 
resemblance to a dromcdary ? s hunch. Those who have as- 
cended into this unearthly region, describe the highest eleva- 
tion, as being like the ridge of a house, veiy narrow, and 
scarcely wide enough, in some parts, for two persons to walk 
abreast. The snow is glazed with ice ; and, underneath, is as 
though it were ground to dust. Some of the granite rock, 
about a hundred and fifty yards below the summit, has the 
appearance, it is said, of having been riven by the lorce of 
lightning. 

It was long thought impossible to gain the summit of this 
gigantic mountain ; and about six different attempts, from the 
first that is known, which took place in 1762, failed, — either 
in consequence of the approach of night ; intense cold ; the 
rarefaction of air, affecting respiration; fresh falls of snow; 
or the apprehension produced by the gathering of clouds 
around this high place of thunder, ominous of the approaching 
storm. At length, on the 7th of August, 1786, Dr. Paccard of 
Chamonix, and James Balma, his guide, — undeterred by the 
cold which froze their provisions, and the ink in their pock- 
ets, and which was accompanied with a piercing wind that 
almost flayed their faces, — reached the loftiest elevation in 
Europe, before untrodden by man. 

About the same time in the following year, M. de Saussure, 
with eighteen guides, made a philosophical expedition to the 
summit ; being provided with instruments, tents, and mat- 
tresses. The party passed the first night on the mountain 
called la Cote ; and on the next afternoon, at four o'clock, 
took up their station for the night, at nearly 13,000 feet above 
the level of the sea. The moon appeared intensely brilliant, 
in a sky black as ebony, and Jupiter was all radiance. 
The next morning they pursued the steep ascent, with im- 
mense labor, and very slowly ; but arrived at the summit, at 
eleven in the forenoon, and stayed some hours in this aerial 
region, in their tent. 

The lower mountains did not appear united as they do be- 
low, but completely detached from each other. Two butter- 
flies were on the wing, at this extraordinary elevation, where 
the temperature was 45° of Fahrenheit lower than that of Ge- 
neva, at the same time. In the barometer, there was a differ- 
ence of more than 11° of De Luc ; and the humidity, by the 
hygrometer, was found to be six times less than at Geneva. It 
required half an hour to boil water* ; sounds were very feeble, a 



ASCENTS OF MONT BLANC. 207 

pistol giving a report almost like a pop-gun ; respiration was 
difficult ; a burning thirst was experienced ; no appetite was 
felt for food ; and nothing but draughts of fresh water gave 
relief; the pulse, which in repose at Chamonix, had been 
between sixty and seventy, was increased to a hundred, or a 
hundred and ten. The heavens appeared of a very deep blue ; 
and by standing in the shade, the stars could be discerned. 
The huge Aiguilles, or Horns, which appear so magnificent 
from Chamonix, dwindled, beneath the feet of this adventur- 
ous party ; who looked down on many snow-crowned summits. 
The Pays de Vaud appeared immediately below them ; but 
a misty obscurity seemed to envelope more distant objects.* 

This mountain, though computed to be five thousand feet 
lower than the Cimborazo in South America, is relatively 
higher ; being about three hundred feet more elevated above 
Chamonix, than the Chimborazo is above the valley of T;ipia. 
Mont Blanc is seen from Dijon ; from the Burgundy moun- 
tains ; lrom Langres, one hundred and eighty miles distant, 
as the bird flies ; and in all its magnificence from Lyons, 
which is much nearer. Several dreadful accidents have oc- 
curred in the attempt to scale the awful height ; and in 1820 
three persons were swept into destruction by an avalanche 
when not very far from the summit. 

According to Mr. Auldjo'sf account, there had been, up to 
the year 1827, fourteen successful ascents, including his own ; 
of which he has given a description, more interesting than 
any romance, and containing appalling details of the dangers 
to which he and his party were exposed, from abysses of ice 
which the eye could not fathom ; and from an awful tempest 
of thunder and lightning. About twenty years before this, a 
young woman of Chamonix had the courage to accompany a 
party of guides, by whose assistance she was able to gain the 
ascent ; and in commemoration of the adventure, she was 
called ■ Maria de Mont Blanc.' Within these few years, it is 
said that another lady has scaled the mountain. 

Napoleon, who has left traces of his genius, and his ambi- 
tion, throughout so great a part of the continent, ordered a cross 
to be erected on the summit of Mont Blanc, as though for a 
mark of his dominion over the highest pinnacle of Europe, 
and over all the countries on which it looks down: — but 
the stormy king of A!ps, whose throne is seated amidst 
heav.-n'.s most frequent thunders, and is often vitrified by the 
scorching lightning, — unlike the vassals that owed their crowns 
to the Ecnperor or all the Gauls, disdained to wear the badge 
of subjection to his power ; and, in a day or two, the cross was 
thrown down by a hurricane. 

* Saussure— Voyages dans les Alpea. 
t See AulcJjo's Asccit. 



208 ASCENT OF MONTANVERT. 

A cloudless morning smiled on our ascent up Montanvert, 
perhaps originally Montague verte, from its being covered 
with wood. It forms part of the base of Mont Blanc, and 
leads to the Mer de Glace. The verdure of the meadows of 
Chamonix, and the dark shade of the forests, were beautifully 
contrasted with the brilliancy of the lofty snows ; for a mag- 
nificent sun shone upon us, and threw his golden beams upon 
the towering heads and pinnacles of the chaotic masses : the 
domes of Mont Blanc rising gloriously behind the wall formed 
by the lower mountains. In the valley all was silent, — and 
there was not a breeze to give sensible movement to the Al- 
pine foliage ; but we stopped repeatedly, to watch the snow, 
as it drifted at intervals, from the extreme summit, present- 
ing the appearance of a series of light, fleecy, momentary 
clouds : — or this aerial avalanche might be likened to a veil 
of mist, floating, in evanescent movements, toward the east, 
and having a remarkable, and elegant effect. 

The road ascended along the shelvy bank of Montanvert 
which is sprinkled with firs and larches up to the summit, — a 
height of 6,100 feet above the sea. About an hour's exertion 
brought us to the stream, which here issues from the rock, to 
refresh the toiling pedestrian. As it ascended higher, the 
path became more rugged; and the three mules clambered 
with their usual dexterity, up what may be termed broken 
and terrific staircases of rocks ; and, sometimes, at the very 
edge of the dizzy precipices that were on our left ; while 
huge rocky fragments lay scattered in wild confusion, above 
and below, over the flank of the mountain, interspersed with 
decayed trunks of trees, blasted by the Alpine lightning, or 
torn away from the soil by the ravages of the avalanche. 

We had travelled no road that was more frightful for rid- 
ers : and the idea of the possibility of a girth giving way, 
through the straining of the mules, — or of their falling down 
exhausted, was continually present ; for whether it were 
that the animals had been over-worked, or that this mountain 
was unusually difficult to climb, they labored much for breath, 
and seemed reluctant to make the ascent. The guides occa- 
sionally exclaimed « un escatier r and held the t ladies on 
when the mules were about to scramble up high steps of 
rock ; but the assurance was continually repeated, il n'y a pas 
de danger, soyez tranquille. 

It is annoying to riders over the mountains, that the mules al- 
ways keep on the very verge of the precipices ; so that generally, 
there is no room for the guides to walk on that side, on which 
protection is felt to be needed. This habit is acquired by the 
mules, in consequence of their being used to carry large bur- 
dens over t|ie mountains, — such as barrels of wine ; so that 
they are frequently obliged to keep as far as the road will 



MONTANVERT. 209 

allow from the rugged walls of projecting rock along which 
they may have to pass. They have been known, in scramb- 
ling over a rocky path, to strike their burden so forcibly on 
one side, as to throw themselves down the opposite precipice. 
The guides were very careful ; but nothing would have in- 
duced our party to ride but fear of extreme fatigue, and the 
being aware that it would be necessary to walk in the de- 
scent. 

In ascending, the views obtained of the Glacier de Buisson, 
and of the surrounding scene, were superb: the valley itself, 
with the village and church-steeple, were strongly illuminated 
by the sun, and looked lovely below ; presenting an appear- 
ance of cheerfulness, and gaiety, which was powerfully con- 
trasted with the wildness and ruggedness of our path ; and 
with our anticipations of the cold and icy regions of the Mer 
de Glace, which we were now approaching. On the left, to- 
wards the north, across the valley, was the chain of the Red 
Needles ; also the Breven, 8,300 feet high. Below, was the 
Glacier des Bois : — and now, turning to the right, not far from 
the edge of this glacier, we were on the summit of the moun- 
tain, and beheld the extraordinary scenery of the Mer de Glace 
stretched before us. The exertion, however, that is required 
in this journey, may excuse the traveller from treading the 
icy sea, and gazing on the sublime and striking objects by 
which it is surrounded, without first taking some refreshment 
at the pavilion, a small room erected as a kind of refectory 
for travellers ; and where persons of almost all nations, and 
of all ranks, from Josephine, and Maria Louisa, had inscribed 
their names, in the visitors' book. 

The heat, during the ascent, had been considerable ; and 
we had now to encounter an atmosphere which was of a very 
different temperature from that of the valley, and the moun- 
tain-side : in short, in less than three hours, summer had been 
exchanged for winter, and beautiful green fields, for beds of 
everlasting ice ; around the borders of which, were ranged 
awful colossal masses of granite rock, and of eternal snow. 
The pavilion was cold and comfortless, not being cheered by 
a lire, which, early in September, would have been very 
agreeable, in a climate elevated more than a mile above the 
I of the sea. 

A descent along a rugged, and narrow path, leads to the 
Mtr de Glace; which is', in Diet, a vast glacier, or defile of 

ice, from half a mile toa mile i;i breadth : running between two 
huge mountains, in different directions, to the extent of about 
five leagues; and supposed to vary in depth, from one to 
three hundred feet. It may be said to hear the appearance of a 

lake, wrought into tumult and fury by whirlwinds, and then in- 
stantaneously frozen, as a perpetual image of the storm ; — 
lb* 



210 THE MER DE GLACE. MOUNTAINS- 

presenting various elevations, some being fifty or sixty feet ; 
consisting of misshapen crags, ridges, and pyramids of ice, 
generally of a dull blue cast, with points and eges tinged of 
a sea-green hue, glittering in the sun-beam with various pris- 
matic colors; — the whole icy chaos being everywhere cleft 
into fissures of an appalling depth, and interspersed with rocks, 
that have been tumbled from the overhanging mountains. 

It seemed strange to pass a line of hardy rhododendrons, at 
the very edge of the ice ; and to be reminded that even here, 
vegetation is not dead. Quantities of the ranunculus glacialis, 
and of other Alpine plants, are also found in this neighbor- 
hood, in the clefts ot the rocks.* 

The savage mountains that rise above this extraordinary 
glacier, have a kind of terrible sublimity ; — partially sur- 
rounding this icy gulf with an amphitheatre of dark, rugged 
summits, snowy heads and masses, and enormous shafts of 
granite, which shoot up into the sky, with their bare and piked 
horrors, to the height of 10,000, or 13,000 feet above the level 
of the sea ; and from 3,000 to 6,000 above the vast frozen cat- 
aract itself, on which we were now standing. 

Immediately on the right were several craggy summits; 
and above them the peak of Charmoz, which impends, with 
an awful precipice, over Chamonix, down which an unfortu- 
nate traveller once fell, and perished. The peak called the 
Giant, the highest that is visible from this spot, towers at the 
end of the icy valley, where it turns off to the right, to form a 
part of the frozen footstool of the vast throne of the great At- 
las Alp : — for the glacier there runs up to mingle with the 
assemblage of ices, which unite to bind the higher parts of 
the base of the central mountain, in the rigors of that perpetual 
winter which here begins to reign. The mass of the Jorasse, 
beyond which lies Piedmont, is still farther on the left, and shuts 
in the valley, as with a long rampart of snow ; while, on the 
other side, several needle shafts, of different hues and forms, 
rise abruptly into the cloudless blue, to a stupendous height, — 
of which the principal are the Aiguille Dru, the Aiguille Verte, 
and the Aiguille du Moine. 

One of these Aiguilles darts its pyramidal pike immediately 
from the border of the ice, to an elevation of 6,000 feet above 
its level : the upper part is nearly perpendicular, and towers, 
for 3,000 feet, in naked and stern majesty, with only a few 
streaks of snow ; seeming to reject the mantle that covers an 
equal space below, where this mass of granite slopes down to 
the snowy bed from which it rises, at the edge of the glacier. 

* In some parts of the Alps, where pines will not now grow, the re- 
mains of ancient forests have been discovered, where the lynx still prowls, 
and the iammer-geier, nine feet in its expanded breadth, dashes the cha- 
mois down the precipice, with a stroke of its wing, and then pounces on 
Its victim, which it speedily tears to pieces. 



THE MER DE GLACE. 211 

l/nder the direction of the guides, and armed with spiked 
poles, we walked some distance on the ice ; which, just at this 
place, had the form of flat slabs of immense size, with chasms 
between them, varying in width from a foot and upwards, and 
tinged at their edges with shades of green and blue. Large 
stones were thrown in:o these crevices, and were heard for 
several seconds, with a hollow noise, till the sound died away, 
giving the idea of a fearful depth. Higher up, in the direction 
which leads to a spot called the garden, — an isle of earth, in 
the midst of ice,— the pinnacles become much loftier, and the 
chasms are of the depth of four or five hundred feet, and so 
wide, that travellers sometimes are obliged to go several miles 
round, in order to avoid them. 

Before coming off the ice, our guides exerted all their 
strength to push a large fragment of rock into one of the 
chasms, at the edge of the frozen platform on which we stood : 
but not choosing to trust to the effect that might be produced 
on so brittle a foundation by a violent shock, we thought it 
advisable to get on terra firma before the men proceeded 
further with their experiment : they tried long and hard, but 
could not succeed ill overthrowing the mass, and we lost the 
effect of The thundering reverberations which all such concus- 
sions produce in this region of solemn and death-like silence. 
Two ladies whom we had met at the pavilion, one of whom 
was a French Baroness, who regretted that she had forgotten the 
English she once knew, walked full half-way over the glacier, 
with their attendants ; — but our party were not disposed to 
follow them so far, and proceeded to visit the granite rock, 
called the Rocker des Anglais, bearing the inscription ' Wind- 
ham, and Pocock,' who were the first foreigners to explore 
this wonderful locality. 

Earlier in the season, this Alpine elevation is the scene of 
some of the wildest convulsions. In the spring, the snows 
fall in tremendous avalanches from the lower parts of these 
enormous peaks, and obelisks of rock : and the increasing 
warmth of the season relaxes, for a time, the icy bond, in 
which all things have for months been locked up, in silence. 
The snows on the border melt into the Mer de Glace, in 
which vast rents are burst with terrific explosion : the water 
finds a way down the Glacier des Bois into the valley, at the 
source of the Arveiron ; and breaks for itself new outlets 
through the frozen masses, undermining the upper parts of 
the glacier, till blocks of ice, and of solid rock, earth, frozen 
snow, and furious torrents of water, rush together in hideous 
confusion into the valley ; which is sufficiently warm in sum- 
mer to prevent it from being permanently added to the frozen 
empire of Mont Blanc. 



312 CHAMOIS HUNTING. 

We lingered on the verge of the Mer de Glace, surveying 
the icy domain, and the forms of terrible grandeur that sur- 
round it, till we began to shiver with cold ; and then return- 
ed to purchase a few memorials of the scene, at the pavilion ; 
where are sold mineralogical specimens, prints, and the pol- 
ished horns of the chamois. As we began to descend, the 
Dent du Midi was pointed out, in the distance, the mountain 
from which the avalanche lately fell, near St. Maurice, and, 
for some days, blocked up the high road from Geneva to Italy. 

One of our guides had ascended Mont Blanc five times : 
another had accompanied Mr. Auldjo ; and being a chamois- 
hunter he seemed vastly pleased with the remark — that possi- 
bly he might have killed the chamois whose horn we had just 
purchased. The hunting of the chamois is a favorite occupa- 
tion of the more adventurous of these mountaineers ; and, in 
pursuing it, they acquire an extraordinary power of vaulting, 
with their poles, down the face of rocks. 

It is said that the chamois are so accustomed to the loud ex- 
plosions, and thunderings of the glaciers and avalanches, that 
they care but little for the report of a gun ; but the instant 
they see a man, they bound away with an eye of fire, and with 
incredible speed. The hunters sometimes spend whole nights 
in lying in wait for their prey, among crags, and snows, by 
the l'ght of the moon : but from this dangerous chase, many 
a hardy adventurer has never returned, having perished 
on the mountains : 

i . 'Alas! 

Nor wife, nor children, more shall he behold, 
Nor friends, nor sacred home ! On every nerve 
The deadly winter siezes, shuts up sense, 
And o'er his inmost vitals creeping cold, 
Lays him along the snows, a stiffened corse, 
Stretch'd out and bleaching in the northern blast !' 

The chamois is an elegant little creature, and will climb 
rocks so abrupt, that it would be supposed hardly possible for 
them to gain a footing. When hemmed in, they will some- 
times rush violently on their pursuer, perhaps on the very 
verge of a precipice, — when the only safety for the hunter 
consists in immediately lying down. They bound from 
twenty to twenty-five feet at a leap ; and it is said that rather 
than be taken, whole herds of them have been known to pre- 
cipitate themselves down perpendicular rocks, where they 
have been dashed to pieces. 

The mountain-goat, or bouquetin, used also to be found in 
the regions of Mont Blanc : this animal will, when pursued, 
bound up a rock to the height of twelve or fifteen feet ; or 
rush up a narrow chasm, between two walls of crags, alter- 



CHAMONIX. 213 

nately springing from side to side, till it reaches the top. A 
village which we passed between Martigny and Valorsine, 
used to be famous for a race of hunters in the perilous chase 
of these mountain goats, till the animals became almost ex- 
tinct in this neighborhood. 



LETTER XV. 

Chamonix— Superstition— Effect of Alps— Road to Servoz— View of Mont 
Blanc — The Needle ofVarens — Fall of Chede — Romanism — View of 
Mont Blanc from Sallenche — The Cholera — Cascade of Arpenas— Cluse 
— Bonneville— Savoyard History — Attempt of Polish Refugees, in 1834, 
to produce Revolution — Religious Sate of Savoy. 

My dear Friend : — Previously to leaving Chamonix, we paid 
a visit to the village church, the mean and showy ornaments 
of which, seemed signally contrasted with the surrounding 
majesty of nature. Superstition evidently reigns in this val- 
ley, the scene of such overpowering demonstrations of the 
divine majesty : but nature has no cure for the moral disorder 
of man ! It was painful to observe that a high crucifix near 
the bridge over the Arve, in the centre of the village, received 
the homage of the passers by, just under the stupendous 
masses of Mont Blanc ! 

In Catholic districts, the guides, notwithstanding their con- 
stant intercourse with foreigners and Protestants, seldom fail 
to make their obeisance to these crosses, and to the tawdry 
little shrines, which perpetually present themselves. Yet, 
when conversed with on the subject, they seem at a loss, as 
might be expected, tor reasons wherewith 1o defend their con- 
duct ; and reply, tout le mondefait comme cela ici. Two of our 
guides to the Mer de Glace seemed to possess considerable in- 
telligence, and did not fail to bring us a packet, containing 
specimens of the geological structure of some of the moun- 
tains of Chamonix ; consisting of granite, gneiss, mica, slate, 
sienite, hornblende, and other minerals. 

On our departure from the valley, in a char & banc, — a car 
in which three persona sit sideways, and one in front, — the up- 
per regions of Mont Blanc were surrounded by cumulated 
strata of slightly shadowed clouds, on which the extreme sum- 
mit was beautifully enthroned, brilliantly illuminated by tho 

afternoon sun. The snowy domes appeared like soma pure 
etheria] region, emerging out of the atmosphere of this low 

world, and destined to be the abode of some order of happy 



214 EFFECT OF THE ALPS. 

beings. — 'High mountains are a feeling : ' — the peculiar emo- 
tions which we are prone to indulge, while viewing these loft- 
iest Alpine heights are, as it were, mystic revelations of the 
original nature of man : they unveil the secret lingering of 
the soul, in its degradation and its fall, after the images ot ideal 
beauty and greatness ; and are prophetic of the perfection to 
which, as regenerated, it is destined in an unfallen world. 

When objects and scenes make an unusually great im- 
pression in our minds, we have a tendency to invest them with 
a kind of personality. Jn Switzerland, each mountain may 
be imagined to have its own character ; the Jungf rau, as seen 
from the northward, may perhaps be said to impress you with 
the idea of proud and dominant grandeur : the mountains of 
Grindelwald stand like hoary giants, in that solemn and silent 
wild : the masses of the southern chain, seen from the distance 
of the Gemmi, look sublimely beautiful, as their snowy crests 
rise above the dark regions below them ; the bare pikes and 
crags around the Me?* de Glace, have a sort of grim horror 
investing them, which seems well to harmonise with that fro- 
zen region : the vast Mont Blanc, as seen from the vale of 
Chamonix, terminating in an unostentatious rounded summit, 
and sustained by other mountains, may be said to look simply 
dignified and majestic, as the conscious superior of all. 

1 The eternal mountains momently are peering 
Through the blue clouds that mantle them ;— on high 
Their glittering crests majestically rearing, 
More like to children of the infinite sky, 

Than of the daedal earth. Triumphantly, 

Prince of the whirlwind ! Monarch of the scene ! 

Mightiest where all are mighty! from the eye 

Of mortal man half-hidden by the screen 

Of mists that moat his base, from Arve's dark, deep ravine, 

Stands the magnificent Mont Blanc ! His brow 

Scarred with ten thousand thunders; most sublime, 

Even as though risen from the world below 

To mark the progress of Decay; by clime, 

Storm, blight, fire, earthquake— injured not ! like Time, 

Stern chronicler of centuries gone by. J 

Westward of the splendid glacier of Buisson, which, like 
that of Des Bois, comes down into the valley, the mountains 
become lower. We proceeded along the romantic road to 
Servoz ; which is frequently very steep, and is hemmed in by- 
mountains. In one place, it runs along the edge of a ravine 
of enormous depth ; darkly clothed with taper pines, which 
shoot up from the ledges of the abyss ; in the bed of which, 
the turbulent Arve, whose course we were following, bears 
along the melted snows and ices of Chamonix. 

The road descends abruptly to the Pont de Pelissier ; and 



ROAD TO SERVOZ. 215 

in the approach to Servoz, Mont Blanc began to display itself, 
on the south ; so as to furnish a view quite different from any 
we had yet obtained, of this stupendous pile of mountains. Its 
mighty summits had fairly disengaged themselves from their 
bases, which, before, greatly intercepted the sight ; and the 
whole spaces lying between the gorges of the nearer moun- 
tains, now appeared filled up with one vast barrier of snow, 
stretching far up into the heavens, from right to left ; and over 
this immense frozen region, the declining sun shed a flood of 
glory ; while some of the lower parts were shaded by fleecy 
clouds, the presage of a change in the weather which was to 
be realized in the course of a few days. 

The valley of Servoz is remarkable for the fall of a moun- 
tain, which occurred about a century ago. It kept crumbling 
to pieces, for several days in succession, darkening the air 
with clouds of sandstone and limestone dust. A number of 
the inhabitants of the valley were buried beneath the ruins. 
The road now proceeds through a region characterized by a 
desolate kind of grandeur, leaving the stupendous aiguille of 
Varens, 7,000 feet high, on the right ; and at length reaches 
the small, and picturesque lake of Chede, whose dark green, 
and transparent waters, beautifully reflected the neighboring 
trees, and the pure snows of the distant mountain. 

Near the village of Chede and a little out of the roadj is a 
cascade which is much admired for its picturesque effect, as it 
is embosomed in the richest foliage. It falls, first, perhaps, 
forty or fifty feet, in a single stream, from the forest-clad 
mountain-top ; — then divides on each side of a projecting rock; 
— then again unites gracefully in foam, as it is dashed down a 
narrow chasm between the crags, — till its hurried waters col- 
lect in the valley below, and pour along, in a bluish stream, 
to swell the Arve. The road now opened into the rich and 
broad vale of St. Martin ; still bordered by lofty mountains, 
and forests of pine, with the Arve on the left. 

All along the road from Chamonix to St. Martin's, is still 
visible the omnipresence of that spiritual despotism, which 
ever marks as its own, the wildest or the most beauteous of 
landscapes ; and stands always ready to add another and 
another link to the chain of mental slavery ; by forming ever- 
new associations, in the mind, between the symbols of super- 
stition and the changing scenes of nature. Innumerable 
crosses, and little chapels, lined the way ; and over them, in 
French,— which from the valley of the Rhone had taken 
place of German, — were placards respecting indulgences, — 
for Baying credos, ave-marias, and pater-oosters. Some of 

these stations wen; erected expressly for the benefit of souls in 
purgatory ; and were inscribed witii appeals to the sympathy 



216 MONT BLANC FKOM SALLENCHE. 

of the passing traveller, on behalf of the miserable beings, 
supposed to be tormented in those fires. 

Not finding, at St. Martin's, the desired accommodations, it 
was necessary to cross the Arve to Sallenche, the chief town 
of Upper Faucigny, a province of Savoy. It was here that 
we obtained the most superb, and impressive view of Mont 
Blanc ; whose heads, clear of nearer obstructions, now boldly 
towered above all else that was lofty and tremendous. 

The sun had sunk below the horizon ; but his glowing rays 
still played on the upper parts of this vast aggregate of Alps ; 
which at the distance of fifteen miles, lifted itself in continu- 
ous masses, so as to overlay an immense proportion of the ho- 
rizon, and to fill the eye every moment ; — seeming to prop the 
heavens, like the huge cyclopean rampart of some other 
sphere. The widely extended fields of snow, were marked, 
at intervals, by dark relieving shadows ; which accumulated 
at the bases, and gave prominence and distinctness to the out- 
lines. It proved that we had before failed to form adequate 
conceptions of the height and magnitude of the mountain ; — 
but now, it stood confessed, in all its pre-eminence : the sight 
was stupendous ! It was gratifying to perceive that others 
felt the same impression from the view as ourselves, for a 
group of people were gazing on the magnificent scene, as they 
sat *at the foot of the handsome stone bridge, which is here 
built across the rapid waters of the Arve. 

The Balcony of the Belle-vue Inn, at Sallenche, looks to- 
wards the mountain ; and as the evening drew in, and planted 
clouds in the horizon, the vast outstretched snows of Mont 
Blanc, still reflected from the sun his last glow, which gradu- 
ally melted away, and left the natural whiteness of the snow 
long distinct from the deep leaden shades, in which all things 
besides were successively involved. At length, night, and 
her train of clouds, brought the whole scene under the domin- 
ion of darkness ; yet we all gazed towards the spot ; and re- 
peatedly rose to look for what had now become invisible. 

On returning once more, however, to the window, to ascer- 
tain whether the removal of a portion of the clouds which had 
settled over the heavens, might allow of yet another glimpse 
of the twilight reflection from the snow, — we were surprised, 
while still looking steadfastly towards the quarter where the 
mountain lay, on a sudden to perceive, high up amidst the 
darkness, a reddish light, which at the moment appeared like 
a distant fire, and the next instant softened into intermingling 
shades of purple and pale green ; till the moon, in a few sec- 
onds, emerged from behind the mountain, and for a short time 
threw a tide of chastened splendor over the icy fields, which 
were skirted with a festoon of beautifully-shadowed clouds : — 
but with this glimpse of moonlight glory, we were obliged to 



SALLENCHE. THE CHOLERA. 217 

be content ; for the clouds, after floating once and again, over 
the moon's disc, and darkening the pale flood of silver that 
seemed to bathe these eternal snows, soon veiled the whole 
scene in uniform obscurity ; and we saw no more. 

The next morning was cloudy, and the giant mountain had 
vanished from the field of vision, as though it had never been. 
Before leaving Sallenche for Geneva, distant about thirty-five 
miles, we took an opportunity of surveying the town, which has 
an antique, and decayed air ; and there appeared much less 
of comfort among the inhabitants, both at this place and in 
Savoy, generally, than among the Swiss. The goitre, too, 
seemed much to prevail here, attended frequently with an 
idiotic vacancy of look ; indeed we had repeatedly observed 
evident idiocy, and the goitre, as features of the country, from 
our entrance into the valley of the Rhone. After looking into 
the church, tawdrily adorned with the various symbols of po- 
pery, we went to a convent of nuns, beautifully situated at 
one end of the town, having learned that strangers were ad- 
mitted to see it ; but on ascending the staircase, we found 
that the interior was not shown, on account of the illness of 
one of the sisters. A large school is attached to the nunnery. 

Previously to our leaving Sallenche, the news arrived that, 
in consequence of the prevalence of the cholera in Italy, and 
parts ot the south of France, the King of Sardinia had order- 
ed a cordon for the safety of his subjects ; prohibiting all per- 
sons from entering his dominions, by way of Geneva, till after 
a week's quarantine ; — that city being so great a resort for 
travellers from all quarters. Happily, this awful scourge had 
not appeared in any of these parts ; and we found that, here, 
as in Switzerland, the people trust, for defence against the 
disease, in the mountain-barriers that enclose them, especially 
on the side of Italy, in which country the cholera had alarm- 
ingly broken out. 

The history of this terrific malady, however, seems to prove, 
that if ever nations and individuals ought not to rest in second 
causes, but to look beyond thern to the great First Cause, it is 
with respect to the cholera. There is something apparently 
so uncertain in the march of this angel of death, and in the 
laws that he observes— his strides are sometimes so appalling, 
and the best mode of resisting his attacks is, as yet, so un- 
determined, that the mind seems almost naturally led to the 
solemn and devout feeling,— the most tranquillizing that can 
be cherished in the hour of danger,— that all events are imme- 
mediately in the hand of God. We had met, however, with 
instances in the case of travellers who were going to Italy, 
in which all danger from the cholera was treated with a sort 
of profane bravado. 

The scenery from Saller.ehe was still grand ; and in the ro- 

VOL. VI. 19 



218 CASCADE OF ARPENAS. 

mantic and silent valley of Maglans, the beautiful fall of Ar- 
penas greets the traveller's ear, rushing from a dark recum- 
bent rock, eight hundred feet high, with curving strata. It 
streams at once half-way down, on a ledge ; and is partly 
scattered into spray ; then, expanding gracefully, for some 
space, in a sort of drapery, it plunges, by two or three de- 
scents, into the valley. This is an elegant cascade, but as in 
the Staub-bach, when we saw it, the quantity of water was 
not proportionate to the length of the fail. 

On approaching the Caverne de Balme, the scene exhibited 
a romantic mixture of tremendous rocks, rich foliage, and 
verdant meadows, watered by the Arve ; exemplifying a most 
interesting union of the beautiful and the sublime. The cav- 
ern is a natural series of vaults, the entrance to which is sev- 
eral hundred feet above the valley, on the face of the perpen- 
dicular rock, under which the road lies. 

Could the overpowering impressions produced by Charno- 
nix, and Mont Blanc, have been forgotten, we should have 
been much more struck with admiration and awe at the ob- 
jects which presented themselves to our view this day : but 
the mental vision was already filled with what was most vast 
and sublime in nature. The scenery, however, if we except 
the snows and glaciers, had not as yet lost its Alpine charac- 
ter. The village and neighborhood of Cluse, is shut up in a 
kind of labyrinth of pine-fringed mountains, whose rocky 
lines sometimes hung tremendously overhead ; while the Arve, 
the courier as it were of the great monarch Alp, among whose 
glaciers it rises, murmured over its stony bed, under a pictur- 
esque arch, in a broad and shallow stream, to mingle with the 
Rhone. ° 

The road continued with the stupendous Buet on the right • 
and, after passing through a rich and picturesque district, beau- 
tifully interspersed with villages, and adorned here and there 
with modern spires, we reached Bonneville. Here, there is a 
stone bridge over the Arve, on the bank of which is a column 
erected to commemorate the great work of the embankment 
of the river,— accomplished under the auspices of Charles 
Felix, the late king of Sardinia, sovereign of thiscountrv, and 
uncle to the reigning monarch. We left the neat town of 
Bonneville, praising the cleanliness, and good provisions, of 
the Hotel de la Couronne, after having surveyed the exterior 

l°L~ Y^Trf f t ? ns !\ e P™? Q . and g^nced at the mean 
little church, bedecked with all the usual apparatus of Romish 

From the neighborhood of Bonneville, and from the whole 
country round, by far the most striking object is the mole 
which rears its detached verdant pyramid towards heaven, to 
%e height of nearly 6,000 feet ; while on the other side? ies 



SAVOYARD HISTORY. 219 

the rugged and barren mass of the Brezon. The country 
now became open, and the scenery less Alpine ; the landscape 
consisting of a rich, highly-cultivated valley, smiling with the 
fruits of nature, and with numerous habitations of men. 

Having passed through Annemass, the last town in Savoy, 
where passport affairs claimed attention for the first time since 
leaving Luzern, we were no longer in the dominions of his 
Sardinian Majesty, the Duke of Savoy. 

Savoy, anciently Sabaudia, lies between France, Switzer- 
land, and Piedmont,— another Sardinian province ; from which 
it is separated by Mont Blanc, and by the Graian Alps, or the 
chain extending from the Col de Bon Homme to Mont Cenis. 
The population, which is Roman Catholic, amounts to about 
500.000; whose language is a mixture of French, with Italian, 
and Swiss German ; but many of the Savoyards speak good 
French. 

This country was inhabited, before the Christian sera, by 
the Allobroges, a tribe of Celtic origin, who were finally sub- 
dued by the Romans, in the reign of Augustus. It formed part 
of the province called Gallia Narbonensis ; and remained, till 
about the end of the fourth century, under the Roman domin- 
ion ; traces of which are still to be found, in the existence of 
numerous antiquities. 

For upwards of a century, subsequently to this period, Sa- 
voy formed part of the kingdom which the Burgundians, a 
German nation, established in Gaul. It afterwards came suc- 
cessively under the dominion of the Franks, the kingdom of 
Italy, and that of Aries in Gaul. 

Rudolph, the last king of Aries, created Berchthold Count 
of Savoy, in 1016 : from this time, his family acquired in- 
creasing power and independence, partly by their adherence 
to the German emperors ; and Savoy became the nucleus of 
the future kingdom of Sardinia. 

In 1416, Count Amadeus VIII. was created Duke of Savoy, 
by the emperor Sigismund. One of his successors, Philibert 
Emanuel, who had been kept from his paternal possessions, 
during six years, by the French, was restored in 1559 ; and 
signalized his ducal reign by attempting, at the instigation of 
the Pope, to convert the Protestants in his dominions, includ- 
ing many Waldenses, by force of arms : but their resistance 
was bo formidable that he was compelled to grant them privi- 
leges. 

The peace of Utrecht, in 1713, added Sicily to Savoy ; but, 
seven years afterwards, that island was exchanged Tor Sardi- 
nia, which gave a name to the monarchy. The same ancient 
family continued to reign till the French revolution broke up 



220 ATTEMPT OF POLISH REFUGEES. 

the Sardinian power, and the king was compelled, in 1708, to 
cede all his continental dominions to France. 

The final downfall of Bonaparte, in 1815, restored to Vic- 
tor Emanuel I. the possessions of his ancestors ; and the Con- 
gress of Vienna, anxious to strengthen the king of Sardinia, 
as the guardian of the passes of the Alps, added Genoa to the 
monarchy ; which now consists of that duchy, Savoy, Pied- 
mont, Montserrat, part of the Milanese territory, and the isl- 
and of Sardinia. 

The restoration did nothing to improve either the liberties, 
or the religion, of this country. Victor Emanuel re-estab- 
lished the old constitution, and the Jesuits ; and instituted a 
rigid censorship of the press. After the civil troubles of 1821, 
which issued in the abdication of Emanuel, in favor of his 
brother Charles Felix, and in the prevalence of Austrian poli- 
tics, fresh power was given to the Jesuits ; and more vigorous 
attempts than ever were made to put down the principles of 
freedom. In 1825, the works of Schiller, Wieland, and 
Gothe, were proscribed from the Sardinian dominions. A 
royal decree sealed the fountains of knowledge from the peo- 
ple, by prohibiting any one who did not possess property to a 
certain amount, from studying at the university ; — and even 
from learning to read or write ! In 1831, the misnamed Charles 
Felix, fitter for the dark ages than for the nineteenth century, 
left the sceptre to his successor. 

In January 1834, the tranquillity of Savoy, and of some 
parts of Switzerland, was disturbed by a daring attempt to 
create a revolution in the Sardinian dominions, — made by a 
body of four or five hundred Poles, who had left France, and 
taken up their abode in the canton of Bern, where they had 
been hospitably received. They gradually withdrew to the 
lake of Geneva ; and, entering Savoy, publicly announced 
that the « great day of Savoy' was come, and the time for 
overturning the throne of Charles-Albert, the reigning Duke, 
and King of Sardinia. They promised * liberty, equality, and 
fraternity ' to all ; but the Savoyards remained unmoved. 

Some manifestations of sympathy were shown towards the 
Poles, by the populace of Geneva ; and after many angry al- 
tercations between some of the Swiss cantons, respecting the 
manner in which these refugees were to be disposed of, Bern 
consented to receive them again, on condition that Geneva, 
and the Pays de Vaud, should join in defraying the expense of 
their maintenance. Austria, Prussia, and the German Diet, 
united with the Sardinian government, in remonstrating with 
the Swiss, in consequence of their allowing the peace of 
neighboring states to be disturbed by armed refugees, to whom 
they had given an asylum ; and the Cantons pledged them- 



THE CANTON OF GENEVA. 221 

selves, for the future, to banish from their territories all such 
violators of the peace of nations, and to prevent their return. 
In the religious state of Savoy, there is little to cheer the 
Christian philanthropist. The country is still very much un- 
der the influence of the Romish priesthood, who are here 
found in great numbers ; so that popery is on all sides tri- 
umphant; and some of the noblest and most stupendous monu- 
ments of the Creator's power stand amidst superstition, the 
deepest and most enslaving. Those efforts to promote the 
eternal interests of men, which, in France, Belgium, Germany, 
and many parts of Switzerland, may be carried on in open 
day, here, find no place, or must carefully seek the shade ; as 
they cannot be made without considerable risk. 



LETTER XVI. 

Lake of Geneva, and the Jura mountains. The city. Administration of 
the Eucharist in the Cathedral. Magnificent views. Library of the 
Academy. Museum. The Cathedral. Calvin. Rousseau. Voltaire.' 
Circle of Light. Centenary of the Reformation, August 1835. Church 
of Geneva. Seceders; Eglise du TVmoignage. Societe Evangelique.' 
Religious Institutions. Genevan history. 

My dear Friend : — After exchanging the dominions of the 
King of Sardinia, for the territory of the renowned Swiss re- 
public of Geneva, we continued to descend ; till, at length, the 
Lake began to unfold its bosom, on our right ; though its vast 
expanse? and the dun border that surrounded it, conveyed no 
idea of its real beauties. The dark and gloomy ridge of the 
Jura, behind which the sun had set, formed a long line, bound- 
ing the horizon in front, like a huge wall, rearing itself beyond 
the outstretched sheet of water, which it almost seemed to 
shadow ; and casting a deep solemnity over the whole scene. 
This mountain barrier appears as though it might be designed 
by nature to be a monitor, to check the ambition of mighty- 
France ; though the known history of her aggrandisements, 
rather lends to clothe this vast and extended range, with images 
of the military power, and the wide dominion which she has 
| 
The time appeared long before we entered thfe gate of G 
i ; hut after traversing an extensive suburb, through which 
omnibuses, like ours in London, were continually rolling, we 
led the observatory and arrived at ihefossi ,• which, in- 
stead of being inundated with the waters of the lake, and in- 
19 



222 GENEVA. ADMINISTRATION OF , 

dicating war, is now laid out in gardens ; — an agreeable em- 
blem of the profound peace that has, happily, so long prevail- 
ed. The general aspect of the town which contains about 
thirty thousand inhabitants, is not very prepossessing, on en- 
tering it from Savoy. It is in general closely built ; and is of 
no great extent. The main street, which is not far from the 
border of the lake, has an awkward and confined appearance, 
in consequence of the very high and projecting roofs of the 
houses ; and the ranges of mean little shops and sheds which 
are built out in the street, have an effect somewhat like rows 
of shambles. The chimneys, from their extreme crookedness 
and irregularity, have a very grotesque appearance. 

From the principal street, several other mean ones branch 
out to the upper parts of the town, up a steep acclivity, lead- 
ing to the Cathedral, the Academy, and the Town-hail. To- 
wards the west and south, are many superior buildings, com- 
prising terraces and handsome houses ; and particularly one 
wide, and noble, new street, of no great length, but containing 
some very good shops, quite in modern style ; and having, at 
one extremity, a handsome new market, and at the other, a 
museum founded by M. Rath, where is a small, but pleasing 
collection of paintings and statuary. 

The town was so full, chiefly in consequence of the cholera 
having broken out in Italy, that we drove about for a long 
time from one hotel to another, in vain seeking accommodation ; 
which we, at last, found , to our satisfaction, at the new Hotel 
du Nord, on the north side of the lake ; and near one of those 
delightful public walks which adorn this city. In crossing tho 
water, over the spacious bridge, at the point where the deep 
blue waters of the Rhone emerge rapidly and unmingled,from 
the lake, an extensive range of lofty and magnificent buildings 
presents itself ; the most conspicuous of which is the immense 
and splendid Hotel des Bergues. At the head of the lake, the 
operation of washing linen is carried on to a great extent ; and 
the industrious laundresses attribute no inconsiderable purify- 
ing virtue to the waters of the Rhone. 

The general aspect of the population of Geneva would con- 
vey to the passing stranger, the impression that great public 
order and decorum reigned, and that the manners of the peo- 
ple were domestic. Though games of hazard are said to be 
much practised in the coffee-houses, early hours seem to be 
observed. 

The next day was Sunday, and by far the greater part of 
the shops were shut. At the cathedral, whose walls once re- 
sounded with the voice of Calvin, the administration of the 
Lord's supper took place. The church was crowded : two 
clergymen stood under the pulpit, and two at a station oppo- 
site to them, on the other side the nave. The congregation, in 



THE EUCHARIST. 223 

general, appeared to receive the sacred symbols ; they came 
up in two rows, one on each side ; and first, the magistrates, 
before whom, in a very showy dress, walked a beadle. One 
clergyman presented to each person the bread ; another the 
wine ; each communicant bowing to the clergyman as he re- 
ceived it, and then going forward. When the men had all 
passed by, the women came in a similar manner ; each one 
also bowing, or curtesying. It seemed to be expected that all 
should partake ; and the whole scene had too much of the ap- 
pearance of a ceremony. 

It is one evil connected with religion being part and parcel 
of the state, as it is here, that ecclesiastical discipline cannot 
possibly be kept pure ; magistrates, and others, are, ex officio, 
members of the church, whatever be their religious character. 
Admission to the Lord's table is almost a matter of course, and 
becomes a civil right, rather than a religious privilege. Cases 
must be very marked indeed, which exclude the party from 
communion ; and the mass of individuals who fill up the chasm 
between the serious and spiritual Christian, — and those whose 
ineligion has taken an obvious and decided form, are all in- 
discriminately included within the pale of the church. 

We heard a sermon at the English chapel, which is within 
the precincts of the Hospital ; and was numerously and re- 
spectably attended. In the afternoon Dr. Malan's chapel was 
open, situated in his garden, in the suburbs ; and this venera- 
ble man gave a devout and interesting exposition of the fifty- 
first Psalm. The place will hold about five hundred persons : 
at the present service, which preceded the Lord's supper, the 
attendance was considerable. 

On exploring the town, on the following day, we found it to 
be surrounded by very beautiful and extensive promenades, 
reaching along the ramparts. These walks exhibit great va- 
riety, and some of them are joined by suspension bridges over 
the fosses. From some parts of the ramparts, the buildings on 
the west, loftily rising in a kind of amphitheatre, and crowned 
by the venerable towers of the cathedral, have a very striking 
effect; and from various points in the neighborhood of the 
town, the views are singularly sublime and picturesque — com- 
prising the lovely lake, appearing like a vast mirror, exquisite- 
ly bordered with pastures, villas, and umbrageous foliage; the 
Jura mountains, forming a boundary line of imposing grandeur 
on the west ; and towards the south and east, the white rockl 
of the Salcve, — the Mole, the Brezon, the needle of Yarens, and 
other mountains; and at the distance of fifty miles, the tow- 
ering masses of Mont Blanc. We observed, during our stay 
at Geneva, tint, sometimes, even when a white Line of clouds 
belted the whole chain of the neighboring Jura, the mighty 



224 GENEVA. THE CATHEDRAL. 

barrier of the Savoy Alps distinctly presented the huge out- 
line of its vast fields of snow, far above the horizon. 

Having availed ourselves of an introduction to a resident of 
Geneva, we obtained admission to the Library of the Academy, 
containing about fifty thousand volumes, which was courteous- 
ly shown by one of the Pastors. There are, here, some curi- 
ous old paintings from the Romish times, in one of which it 
was amusing to see a piece of New Testament History painted 
with the scenery around Geneva, and adorned with the Mole, 
and other neighboring mountains. The library is hung with 
a fine collection of portraits, including those of several of the 
Reformers, and a painting of Bonnivard, the prisoner of Chil- 
lon : there are also some beautifully illuminated manuscripts, 
some sermons of St. Augustine, written on papyrus, a fragment 
of the tablet, or memorandum-book of Philip the Fair of France, 
in wood, and covered with wax, like those of the Romans ; and 
some autograph letters of Viret, and of Calvin, having the seals 
still affixed to them. 

The collections of natural history are numerous, this branch 
of science being apparently a favorite pursuit at Geneva. In 
the Museum of the Academy may be noticed a butterfly meas- 
uring nine inches and a quarter across the wings. One re- 
markable curiosity, here, is a circular piece of antique silver 
plate, found in the bed of the Arve, and supposed by some to 
be a Roman shield, for which, however, it appears too small. 

The cathedral is a Gothic edifice, of no great extent ; and is 
inharmoniously finished at the west end, with a Corinthian por- 
tico, in imitation of that of the Rotunda at Rome. In the time 
of the Romans, who subdued the Allobroges, the ancient in- 
habitants of the shores of the Lake Lemanus, a temple to the 
sun is supposed to have occupied the site of this church, We 
obtained an interesting view of the immediate neighborhood 
from one of the towers ; but the clouds, which had, for a day 
or two, been accumulating, had by this time gathered too much 
to allow of a very extensive prospect. 

The interior of the church has a fine appearance, though it 
is not very large. The lowest windows of stained glass, in the 
choir, are ancient ; but all the rest, which have a very pleasing 
effect, were added on the occasion of the third centenary of 
the Reformation, the 23d of August, 1835. On inquiring wheth- 
er the pulpit was the very same in which Calvin had preach- 
ed, — we were informed that the sounding-board remained, but 
that the pulpit itself had been renewed. The tomb of the Duke 
of Rouen being shown, we asked where was Calvin's? and 
were told there was none : nor could the man inform us where 
he was buried. There is no statue, no pillar, no monument, to 
this illustrious, and to use the epithet of Bishop Horsley, who 
differed from him in his theology, this * venerable' Reformer. 



CALVIN. ROUSSEAU. VOLTAIRE. 225 

Calvin was the founder of the presbyterian form of church 
government, here, and the instrument of giving organization 
to the doctrines of the Reformation. WiJliam Farel, however, 
and Peter Viret, had the honor of first preaching them in this 
city, three or four years before the persecution of the Protest- 
ants under Francis I. drove Calvin, hither, from Noyon, in 
France. It is to be regretted, indeed, that Calvin did not, as 
is but too evident from the melancholy affair of Servetus, un- 
derstand the true principles of religious liberty. But this was 
a period when men, emerging from the gloom and the bigotry 
of popery, carried with them a large portion of its darkness 
into the light. Calvin, however, liberally promoted that at- 
tention to learning, which has since tended to deliver mankind 
from all tyranny over conscience ; and he persuaded the civil 
government to establish the public academy. 

Geneva, and its neighborhood, have also been remarkable 
for men of a very different character. It was in 1750, that 
Rousseau first appeared on the stage of literature ; some years 
afterwards, he returned to Geneva, his native city, to broach 
his infidel opinions, in his discourse on the ' Causes of the In- 
equality among Men/ and on the * Origin of Society.' In 1755, 
Voltaire retired to this place, to spread around him a similar 
deleterious moral atmosphere, for full twenty years. He after- 
wards converted the castle of Ferney, in this neighborhood, 
situated within view of all that is sublime and beautiful in na- 
ture, into the court and temple of infidelity ; where, as its 
monarch and high-priest, for eleven years, he burnt incense to 
his own vanity, and received the adulation of the learned and 
the great, the embassies of crowned heads, and the homage of 
the simple. 

It is appalling to contemplate the moral poison which these 
two apostles of infidelity have been the means of diffusing !* 

* Voltaire, d'Alembert, and Rousseau, as is evident from some of their 
letters, exulted in the progress of latitudinarianism among the clergy of 
Geneva; which the influence of these men unquestionably contributed to 

Promote; and which still, to a great extent, remains — While at Geneva, 
met with a sermon delivered on the 21st of August, 1735, on occasion of 
the second centenary of the Reformation, before the above two malignant 
stars had combined with other causes, to shed so baleful an influence over 
this once faithful city; and while, as yet, Geneva had not given up that 
attachment to the doctrines of the Reformation, which, for the first two 
centuries, she cherished. Tins discourse was preached in the cathedra], 
by Antome Maurice, Pastor, and Professor of Theology. 

The following sentence is translated from the preface, which is address- 
ed to the 'Venerabl Company of Pastors and Professors of the ('lunch 
and Academy of Geneva •' ' May our endeavors please Jesus Christ our 
•■ r, contribute to advance his reign, and bring down on us, ond on our 
labors, Ins blessing! 1 

In tke sermon itsel£ are the following sentiments:-* 1 The veil which 
formerly covered the doctrine of grace, has been taken away by the Spirit, 



226 CIRCLE OF LIGHT. 

The brilliancy of their genius, to the view of every correct 
mind, was but the glare of a noxious vapor ; like the ignis fa- 
tuus which allures the traveller to some quagmire of destruc- 
tion. These men, by their personal influence, and their writ- 
ings, had so prepared the next generation for admitting the 
worst principles which were blended in the French Revolution, 
that in 1791, a society styling themselves the ' Circle of Light,' 
were quite prepared to sacrifice their country's freedom and 
religion, to democracy and atheism ; till, after successive con- 
vulsions, attended with all the horrors of revolution, Geneva 
in 1798 lost her independence, and was made part of the French 
Republic. In 1814 the overthrow of the gigantic power of 
France, and of its warlike ruler, restored this little state to its 
ancient laws and freedom. 

Some inhabitants of Geneva, who take a deep interest in the 
cause of the Reformed doctrines, stated that the late centenary, 
held August 23d, 1835, previously to our arrival, was celebrat- 
ed by three parties, — the National Church; the members of 
the Societe Evangelique, who met for worship in the Oratory ; 
and those of the Eglise du Temoignage, or * Church of the Tes- 

the author of the Gospel.'— c In working this marvel of the Reformation, 
God made use of second causes ; and we ought not to despise or forget 
them. Such were those great men who had the courage to come and 
preach among us the pure gospel ; and in particular, a Farel, whom grace 
made use to found this church ; and a Calvin, to whom it owes its com- 
pletion. Lovely names, which will always be dear to Genevan hearts 
who shall value truth and liberty !' 

'It is from God alone, and from his word that we received laws in reli- 
gion. Our Creator, our Redeemer, to whom nature and grace have al- 
ready subjected us, is now the sole regulator of our faith.' — ' I will never 
acknowledge any other head, any other monarch of the church, than the 
Son of God ; nor any other centre of unity than his gospel. O how sweet, 
how glorious, for us not to have to announce anything but the oracles of 
God ; to acknowledge no other master than his Son ; no other rule of our 
faith than his word ! O happy, glorious liberty!' 

' We have to teach a very pure religion ; let us preach it in its purity : let 
us combat with courage, error and vicei It is not true that we are called 
to liberty, when Christianity has thus been restored to its simplicity, and 
its natural purity ; — when it is proved that those who die in the Lord are 
thoroughly; happy; that they rest from their labors; that they are received 
into the bosom of Abraham; that they are with their Saviour in paradise 1 
Sacred spirits who minister ro'ind the throne of God, and who are em- 
ployed for the happiness of the faithful, know what are now our purposes ! 
— let all creatures learn how much this church owes to her Redeemer !' 

' Sovereign master and legislator of the world, who knowest our works, 
and who wilt one day judge us! great and eternally blessed God ; — Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, — we vow by thy holy name, to submit to thy retri- 
bution, if we violate this oath ! freed by thy power, we will be faithful to 
thee unto death. Nothing shall ever cause us to abandon thy truth : thy 
word shall be our only guide.' — Sermon sur le Jubile de la Reformation 
de la Republique de Geneve, prononce a St. Pierre, le Dimanche, 21 Aout, 
1735. Par Antoine Maurice, Pasteur, et Professeur de Theologie. 



GENEVA. 227 

timony,' consisting of the friends of Dr. Malan, who was first 
ejected from the Genevan establishment. 

The respective services were so arranged as not to interfere 
with each other ; but the separate bodies did not, during the 
festival, unite in common under one roof. Indeed those whose 
hearts were alive to the good which, it was hoped, might re- 
sult from the celebration, expected more than was realised. 

The ' Venerable Company of Pastors,' as men of character 
and learning, wield a great influence over the public mind ; 
and everything relating to this festival was under their control, 
in connection with the magistracy, who acted with them : but 
the general tone of religion, in this celebrated little Republic, 
may be easily inferred from the manner in which the Re- 
formation, which took place here, in 1535, was recently com- 
memorated. 

On the same occasion, in 1735, it had been expressly for- 
bidden, by the Council of State, to discharge any kind of fire- 
arms on the Sabbath-day which occurred during the celebra- 
tion ; and a programme was previously read from the pulpit, 
exhorting the people to avoid, on that 'holy day, 5 every inde- 
cent and profane demonstration of joy : — but Sabbath evening, 
the 23d of August, 1835, was ushered in by a general illumina- 
tion ; with the usual accompaniment of fireworks, transparen- 
cies, triumphal arches, the sound of drums, and the roar of 
artillery ; and the whole population was poured into the streets. 
In this illumination, the Catholics, who have here one church, 
chose to unite ; probably to save their windows ; though, from 
the bitterness of the priests, there had been some previous ap- 
prehension that disturbances might occur : but the authorities 
had prepared for this contingency, and all passed off in quiet- 
ness. 

The Cathedral of St. Peter was also splendidly illuminated, 
and a vocal and instrumental concert was given within its 
walls. The manner in which the Sabbath is observed in any 
place may be regarded as an exact thermometer of religious 
feeling ; for the example of Christ and the apostles, sanction- 
ing the use of the first day of the week for the purposes of 
public devotion, is sufficient to induce every Christian who is 
in a right state of mind, to avoid everything that might unne- 
cessarily interfere with the full benefit of this great privilege. 
Such a mode of employing the Sabbath as was adopted on the 
23d of August, 1835, and which was connived at, to say the 
least, by the clergy, could obviously have no other than an 
evil tendency on the religious feelings of the people. It has 
been but too justly said that — ■ Socinianism reigns in the 
church of Geneva :' then; was, however, at hast one sermon 
preached in it on the occasion, of a very different order, — the 
discourse of M. Diodati, who faithfully showed that the re- 



228 GENEVA. CENTENARY OF 1835. 

demption of Christ is of the essence of the doctrines of the 
Reformation. 

The general conferences that were held on the 22d, 24th, 
and 25th of August, were but little characterized by the spirit 
that was to be desired. Scotland had declined the invitation 
of the 'Venerable Company ;' and had accompanied her re- 
fusal with a dignified testimony to the truth. The Pays de 
Vaud would not formally identify itself with the union, unless 
the divinity of the Saviour were publicly recognised ; and a 
deputation was sent jrom that canton, expressly to testify to 
the doctrines of the Reformation. America was silent, with 
the exception of Dr. Channing's nephew, a Unitarian. Evan- 
gelical Germany was not represented; nor was. there one 
pastor from the orthodoxy of Holland. The English evange- 
lical Dissenters had no deputy. Two only, of the decided 
school of the Reformation, appeared from Switzerland ; and 
there were but very few evangelical pastors from the French 
Protestant Church. 

Of the rational school, there were numbers from France ; 
and several from Germany. The sittings of the Assembly 
were held in the Church of the Auditory ; and the conference 
was composed of about two hundred persons. One speaker 
appeared almost in the character of the champion of natural 
religion ; but his speech was not very acceptable to a part of 
the audience ; though the Venerable Company seemed to 
adopt as their rule, — patiently to hear all, and to reply nothing. 
Doctors Ammon and Rohr, from Germany, defended the ra- 
tionalism which has there prevailed. M. Guillebert, pastor and 
professor, from Neuchatel, sought to prove that there were 
three things which modern Protestants can do without ; name- 
ly, confessions of faith, continental missionaries, and religious 
journals ; which sentiment pleased the pastors of Geneva, who, 
through MM. Cellerier and Martin, gave in their entire adhe- 
sion to it. 

A proposition was made, on the last day of the conferences, 
to send a deputation to invite the three pastors of the Oratoire, 
MM. Gaussen, Galland, and Merle, who had been disowned 
by the church, to come and take their seats in the Assembly. 
This proposal gave rise to an animated discussion ; in which 
a noble testimony was borne to the doctrines of the Reforma- 
tion, by M. Grand-Pierre, of Paris, where he is at the head of 
the Evangelical Mission College. Mr. Hartley, minister of 
the English Episcopal Church at Geneva, followed, in the 
same strain of uncompromising fidelity ; giving an outline of 
the faith of the reformers, — or rather of the apostles ; and, after 
making some very lively and touching appeals to the audience, 
bewailing the wide departure of the Genevan church and Aca- 
demy from the simplicity of the Gospel,— -during which re- 



CHUHCH OF GENEVA. SECEDERS. 229 

marks he was very impatiently heard, and sometimes inter- 
rupted, — he concluded by a solemn prayer for the pastors of 
the city, and for all Protestant churches. The debate ended, 
after three hours' discussion, by the moving of the previous 
question.* 

The three pastors of the Oratoire have always announced 
their willingness to return to the bosom of the church, if the 
principles of the Reformation were recognised in it ; as it is 
only doctrine, and not church-government, for which they have 
contended. Hence the onus of rejecting them rests entirely 
with the * Pastors/ who seem to fear little on this point, having 
formerly expelled Cesar Malan, a professor in the Academy, 
and an occasional preacher, for maintaining the doctrine of 
justification by faith, in the very church where Calvin had so 
often preached it.f 

A regulation drawn up by the Pastors, still exists, though it 
has not for some time past been enforced, by which a written 
declaration is to be signed by every now candidate for the mi- 
nistry, almost promising that he will refrain from preaching 
on the * divinity of Christ, the operation of divine grace on the 
heart, original sin, and predestination. ' So determined have 
been the attempts to rob the Gospel of almost all its peculiari- 
ties, and to reduce it to little more than the mere echo of natu- 
ral religion. 

Yet the vital truths of the Christian faith, have never been 
wholly extinct in this apostate church, even in the darkest 
hour of her history. There has always remained a glimmer 
of promise ; — always some few faithful prophets who, at what- 
ever worldly risk, have not bowed the knee to the Baal of ra- 
tionalism,— either in its colder, or its more enthusiastic forms ; 
nor worshipped the idol with the Christian mask, — but possess- 
ing the real aspect, and the heart of infidelity. The defalca- 
tion from the doctrines of the Gospel on the part of the clergy 
is more remarkable, because the evangelical liturgy, as drawn 
up by the reformers, is still in use. 

How true is it of the divine element of pure Christianity, as 
it was of the heaven-protected nation of the Hebrews, in the 
land of Egypt, — that opposition does but accelerate its growth ! 
After Dr. Ma kin's ejection, M. Gaussen, who was then connect- 
ed with the Genevan church, was pronounced to be 'toozeal- 

* Sen ' Archives du Christianisme.' 

t Not long ago, a young minister of the Church was summoned before 
the i for preaching the deity of Jesus Christ : he was asked a 

onduct, in thus bringing forward antiquated and rptcula' 
Hve doctrines ; snd having furnished himself with an extract from Cal- 
vm's works on the subject, he read it, as part of lus defence, without stat 
ing who was the author; the Win Table Company, however, 'knew not' 
Calvin; and the faithful young man was excluded from the chun-h. 

vol. vi. 20 



230 ' SOCIETE EVANGELIQUE,' AND ' EGLISE DTJ 1"EM0IGNAGE.* 

ous,' in his pastoral engagements ; for as there were no even* 
ing services in the churches, he had begun to hold private 
evening meetings for prayer, reading, and exhortation. He 
had done more ; — instead of using the ' Catechism,' from which 
almost everything that distinguishes Christianity had been ex- 
punged, he employed the Holy Scriptures, in the religious in- 
struction of youth. 

This departure from the general practice was followed, in 
1831, by the institution of the ' Societe Evangelique,' for the 
preaching of the Gospel in Geneva ; and for the accomplish- 
ment of various collateral religious objects. In consequence 
of the interest they took in the promotion of this society, and 
of their general character as evangelical, the Rev. Messieurs 
Gaussen, Galland, and Merle, were officially deprived of their 
functions, as ministers of the church and they became pastors 
of the Evangelical Society of the Oratoire. — Thus like other 
churches that have been corrupted by error, or by their amal- 
gamation with the State, is the church of Geneva destined, 
against her will, to form from her own bosom, the materials 
that shall re-act upon her from without, and ultimately rege- 
rate, and restore her, to more than her pristine glory. 

Though the religion of Jesus is essentially independent of 
the smiles and the frowns of men, it is, perhaps, a good omen 
for the future progress, in Geneva, of the genuine principles of 
the Reformation, which have so arduous a contest to maintain 
against the weight of respectability, learning, and authority, 
in the clergy, — that the evangelical community is composed 
of the higher class of society in this city ; whose influence is 
likely to have the greatest effect on the mind of others. It was 
also stated by a gentleman who is well-acquainted with all the 
circumstances, that some hopes are entertained of a closer 
union between the Societe Evangelique, and the Eglise du Te- 
moignage, a consummation 'devoutly to be wished for,' as 
union, particularly in the cause of truth, is strength. 

The Society's church will hold about a thousand people. 
The ministers" maintain three services on the Sabbath, two in 
French, and one in German ; besides one service in each lan- 
guage, during the week. There are also social, and missiona- 
ry prayer-meetings ; and the Society, in addition to the origi- 
nal object, — evangelical preaching in Geneva, — patronises a 
system of colportage, or the sale of the Scriptures on very low 
terms, by pious young men, who are called colporteurs or 
hawkers ; but whose office it is, not only to sell, but also to 
explain, and to recommend the sacred volume. Much good, 
there is reason to believe, has been effected by means of this 
system, through Genevese agency, in France. 

There is also a ' Comite d'Evangelisation,' for the especial 
purpose of promoting the preaching of the Gospel in that des- 



GENEVAN HISTORY. 231 

titute country. The Society, moreover, takes a deep interest 
in the cause of missions in general, and in the distribution of 
evangelical tracts : it, also, supports Sabbath, and infant 
schools. For the purpose of regenerating divinity, and train- 
ing up a ministry that shall be free from the Unitarian ration- 
alism, and the semi-infidelity, that have, here, shed so baleful 
an influence on the fountains of public instruction, a Theolo- 
gical Institution has also been set on foot, by the Society. 

That some good has resulted from the testimony which has 
been borne to the truth by the Societe Evangelique, is evinced, 
among other symptoms, by the facts, — that one vacancy in the 
presbytery has been filled up by an evangelical clergyman, — 
and that the preaching in the established church, however de- 
ficient it still is, appears to be less decidedly contrary to the 
gospel than heretofore. The friends of evangelical truth in 
Geneva, consider that, in this canton, religion is in a state of 
transition, and of certain progress, towards the doctrines of the 
Reformation. 

The history of Geneva testifies that, like other border cities, 
it has experienced its share of change. Julius Ccesar establish- 
ed, here a military station ; and the town was repeatedly de- 
stroyed by fire, in the conflicts between the Romans and the 
neighboring nations. 

In the beginning of the fifth century, this city was the capi- 
tal of the Burgundians. It subsequently came under the 
Frankish dominion ; and, in 1032, was united to the German 
empire. At a later period, it was a perpetual source of con- 
test between the House of Savoy, and its own Counts, the 
Prince Bishops, till 1526, the date of the rise of its independ- 
ence. The dukes of Savoy made a last and unsuccessful at- 
tempt to enslave Geneva in 1602 ; but they did not formally 
acknowledge its independence till 1754. After this period, in- 
testine commotions agitated this little commonwealth, at inter- 
vals, till, in 1798, it was occupied by the French, whose power 
over it fell with Bonaparte. 

Since the Reformation, Geneva has become a seat of learn- 
ing. It is, at present, celebrated for the intellectual tone of its 
society, and the excellence of its system of education. In the 
Academy are upwards of twenty professors. 



232 THE LAKE OF GENEVA. 



LETTER XVII. 

The Lake of Geneva— Jerome Bonaparte— Lausanne— Gibbon— Head of 
the Lake— Castle of Chillon — Rousseau — Vevay — Quadrennial fete — 
Edmund Ludlow — Bulle— Freyburg— The Cathedral— Romanism— Li- 
berty taken with Scripture — The Hermitage — The Suspension Bridge 
—Extraordinary Situation of Freyburg — Mixture of Languages — Alem- 
anni, and Franks. Road to Bern— Costume— Bern— Its beauty — 
Cathedral. Bears. Arsenal. Public Buildings. Road to Soleure. Ca- 
puchin friars. Canton of Bern. Costume. Magnificent views of the 
Northern Chain. Last sight of the Alps. 

My dear Friend : — On leaving Geneva, we determined to pur- 
sue our course to Vevay, on the Lake ; which is the most ce- 
lebrated of all those that adorn the continent of Europe. It 
receives within its ample bed, the waters of forty streams, be- 
sides the Rhone. This, the most rapid of European rivers, 
disdaining, as it were, to mingle in the common reservoir, urges 
its onward course through the vast expanse of about forty or 
fifty miles, marked by the blue color, and the restlessness of 
its ever-flowing tide, which issues from the lake with a purer 
azure, and, at some distance below Geneva, meets the Arve, 
another turbulent child of glaciers. This stream is said to 
contain particles of gold. When suddenly increased by the 
thaw of the icy regions at the bases of Mont Blanc, the Arve 
sometimes swells the Rhone to such a degree, that it rolls back 
towards Geneva, resembling another Jordan, and still strug- 
gling to preserve the identity of its flood. A few leagues low- 
er, this rapid torrent, like the gloomier waters of the fabled 
Styx, disappears under ground, beneath the chaotic ruin of 
neighboring mountains ; from which it again emerges, to wa- 
ter the plains of France, to the extent of five hundred miles. 

If it could be imagined that, for one single summer, the eter- 
nal snows and ices of Savoy were exposed to such a sun as 
rises on Egypt, what might not be the consequence ! — But the 
sun has his course, and the waters have their bounds ; and so 
admirable a balance is maintained, between the evaporation 
and the supply of the lake of Geneva, that it rarely rises, at 
the utmost, more than six feet above its ordinary level, though 
it is so immediately connected with the innumerable and enor- 
mous storehouses of the Alpine gulfs of ice ; which have only 
to be unlocked by a permanent change of temperature,. in or- 
der to drown the whole valley of the Arve, from the Jura wall 
to the Savoy chain of Alps. 

The form of the lake is a rude segment of a circle, of which 



THE LAKE OF GENEVA* 233 

t he convex side is northward ; the greatest breadth being abou t 
nine miles. It continually diminishes towards Villeneuve on 
the east, where it receives the Rhone ; also towards Geneva, 
which is situate at its south-western point. On the Savoy side 
of this classic lake, are the Saleve mountains, which overlook 
he city, to the height of about three thousand feet; and to the 
south-east, are seen various pyramids, heads, and needles, — 
all surmounted by Mont Blanc, which, at the distance of fifty 
miles, was distinctly visible while we were at Geneva. The 
surfaces of the calcareous Saleve mountains are bestrewed 
with huge isolated fragments of granite, the hieroglyphic me- 
morials, as it were, of some vast, but unknown convulsion of 
nature, that would seem to have brought them, at some period, 
from the primitive Alps. 

The sublime back-ground of the lake is graced and relieved 
by the smiling verdure, the human habitations, the vineyards, 
and the orchards, which border the waters ; and by the gras- 
sy ridges which, in some parts, rise out of its bosom. The 
side of the Pays de Vaud, by its picturesque beauty, and high 
cultivation, claims to be the garden of Switzerland : but on 
the morning when we were to view this scene from the lake, 
the rain fell heavily, and continued, more or less, during great- 
er part of the forenoon ; so that we lost much of the charms of 
this interesting region. 

Notwithstanding the distance, in calm weather, and a favor- 
able light, Mont Blanc may be seen reflected from the bosom 
of the lake; but, now, the Savoy Alps, and even the Jura 
chain were wholly obliterated ; and the white Saleve moun- 
tains, to the south of Geneva, presented a singularly wild ap- 
pearance, their surface being dimmed by mist, and by contin- 
ually driving clouds. The city, with its towers, and lofty 
buildings, rose between the lake and these mountains, which 
formed, in the back-ground, a gloomy and magnificent kind of 
amphitheatre. 

The rain did not prevent us from perceiving that we were 
passing between two coasts, which, id fine weather, must be 
enchan.ingly beautiful; each bank being adorned with ele- 
gant villas and lovely gardens. The * Leman' steam-boat is 
fitted up with comfort and elegance; but our party found the 
motion of the vessel exceedingly disagreeable, as the water 
was extremely rough ; so that this sail was much more like a 
sea-voyage, than that which we bad experienced from London 
to Ostcnd ; arising from our having to oppose the rapid tor- 
rent of the Rhone, which now had a remarkably blue appear- 
ance. 

In about three hours, the rain ceased, and the shining of the 

sun invited all to the deck J when it proved lhat we had no 
distinguished a person on board than Jerome Bonaparte, 
20* 



234 JEROME BONAPARTE. 

once king of the ephemeral monarchy of Westphalia, which 
was formed by the great conqueror, out of Hesse-Cassel, 
Hanover, Brunswick, and the Prussian territories west of the 
Elbe. Jerome is a thin man, of the middle size ; and some of 
the voyagers were struck with the likeness of his profile to 
that given of his brother Napoleon, whom he has been thought 
much to resemble. He commanded a large division of the 
French army, at Waterloo, where he made the first charge 
against the allied forces ; and he is said to have possessed 
greater military talents than any of Napoleon's other brothers. 
He has the appearance of an amiable man, and his reserved 
manner, and avoidance of the company on board, conveyed 
the impression of being rather the result of a consciousness 
that he was marked and observed, than of any aristocratic 
pride. His secretary accompanied him; and on leaving the 
vessel at Ouchy, the port of Lausanne, they both got into the 
same boat with the other passengers. 

The wife of Jerome, the Princesse de Montfort, sister of the 
king of Wurtemberg, elicited from Napoleon, when at St. He- 
lena, the following eulogy, for her fidelity to her husband, 
when the changing destinies of the continent, dissolved the 
evanescent monarchy of Westphalia, and Jerome ceased to 
be a king. * There exists a noble testimony in favor of Je« 
rome ; I mean, the love with which he has inspired his wife. 
The conduct of this woman, when, after my fall, her father, 
that terrible king of Wiirtemberg, that despotic and cruel 
man, sought to divorce her from him, is admirable. That 
princess has with her own hands engraven her name on the 
tablets of history.' 

Jerome succeeded, it is said, in securing to himself, as the 
fruit of his elevation, an ample revenue, amidst the wreck of 
those many unsubstantial thrones, which, like fairy creations, 
arose at the nod of the mighty conqueror, only to melt away, 
and perish, with his own changing fortunes. The ex-king 
would certainly not strike any one, as at all wearing an air of 
gloomy disappointment, or mortified pride ; and for aught 
that appeared to the contrary, he may be not less happy, — 
probably much more so, — with his private station, his faithful 
wife, his single attendant, and his favorite white dog, than when 
he was receiving the bought homage of time-serving courtiers, 
on a throne which he must have sometimes felt was precarious 
as the gossamer web, which a breath may tear asunder. 

There was also on board, a Princess of the Bourbon race, 
with her husband and family. Of English there were, be- 
sides ourselves, but very few. The number of the company 
was about thirty. 

Notwithstanding the absence of the sun, — the luxuriance of 
the landscape, and the numerous small towns and villages 



GIBBON. 235 

which presented to view their spires and towers, on the north- 
ern borders of the lake, rendered the continually varying scenes 
sufficiently interesting and picturesque to convey some idea of 
what must be their beauties under a smiling sky. The vessel 
remained stationed, for some time, before Lausanne ; which 
is the capital of the Pays de Vaud, and is situated at a short 
distance from the shore, crowning a steep ascent with its ca- 
thedral, and its massy castle tower, which give it an antique 
and romantic effect. 

The whole of this region is rich in Roman antiquities : it is 
also fraught with modern, historical, and biographical associ- 
ations. Of the patrons and abettors of the hopeless system 
of infidelity, some who have attained a ■ bad eminence/ have 
resided on these lovely shores, as if to illustrate how great 
the contrast can be, between the beauty and grandeur of na- 
ture, and the ingratitude, and impiety, of the human heart ! 
To the names of Voltaire, and Rousseau, must be added that 
of Gibbon ; who, at Lausanne, first abandoned Romanism for 
the opposite extreme of scepticism ; and rushed from the 
dreams of superstition, to the rejection of all revealed reli- 
gion. 

Here, too, Gibbon retired, in 1783, to finish his * Decline and 
Fall of the Roman Empire ;' in which celebrated work he 
seeks to undermine the divine authority of Christianity, by at- 
tempting to prove that its astonishing triumphs, during the first 
ages, were not owing to anything miraculous in the facts of 
the gospel history, but to mere natural and secondary causes. 
This insidious attack drew forth several answers, including 
the masterly * Apology for Christianity,' by Dr. Watson, after- 
wards Bishop of Llandaff. 

It is mournful to reflect that a writer of Gibbon's acuteness, 
fertility, and pictorial power, should have labored his splendid 
periods to gild the poisonous bait of infidelity, and to render 
it more attractive to the youthful mind. Though it is of the 
nature of moral delinquency, in general, to be contagious, — 
its more ordinary exhibitions are commonly limited, as to 
their influence on others, within a comparatively small sphere : 
— but the infidel writer may awaken the dormant elements of 
evil, in ten thousand hearts, and embody what before existed 
only in the shape of half-formed thoughts, and evanescent 
feelings, into an organized and systematic hostility to truth 
and virtue. 

By the time we reached Lausanne, the rain had ceased, and 
the industrious Genevese employed the afternoon in making 
ropes, on the deck of the vessel. A more propitious sky, ana 
tms of sunshine, though dubious and watery, allowed of 
advantageous views of the head of Ihe lake, whore it is sur- 
passingly grand and beautiful. The scenery is here much 



236 THE LAKE OF GENEVA. 

bolder, and more Alpine, and, at the same time, more pictufa 
esque, than nearer to Geneva. The lake becomes gradually 
narrower, and is surrounded on the north-east, east, and south- 
east, by mountains, some of which are 5,000 feet in height ; 
promontories abruptly rise from the water, covered with ver- 
dure to its edge ; and, between Lausanne and Vevay, there is 
a rich assemblage of country-seats, gardens, and vineyard 
terraces ; forming a landscape that beautifully contrasts with 
the grander features which characterize the eastern extremity 
of the lake. 

The white walls of the castle of Chillon, had long been in 
sight ; but on approaching Vevay, a nearer view was obtained 
of this ancient pile, which, near the ingress of the Rhone, is 
seated dominant on the waters, as mistress of the expanse ; 
rearing its towers as the representatives of other days. In a 
dungeon of this castle, was confined Francis de Bonnivard, 
the champion of Genevan independence,* against the oppres- 
sions of Charles III. Duke of Savoy. This prince endeavored, 
in 1536, to extinguish the Reformation, the principles of which 
had recently been established in Geneva ; but the inhabitants 
of that city found means of resisting the attempt. They fit- 
ted out an armament, for service on the lake ; while their 
Bernese allies assisted them with a considerable body of 
troops : the combined forces took the castle of Chillon from 
the tyrannical Savoyard ; and Bonnivard was released by his 
victorious fellow-citizens, having been incarcerated during six 
years. 

1 Lake Leman lies by Chillon' s walls : 
A thousand feet in depth below 
Its massy waters meet and flow; 
Thus much the fathom'd line was sent 
From Chillon' s snow-white battlement, 
Which, round about, the wave enthrals ; 
A double dungeon, wall and wave 
Have made— and like a living grave. 

Chillon ! thy prison is a holy place, 
And thy sad fl)or an altar- -for 'twas trod 

Until his very steps have left a trace 
Worn as if thy cold pavement were a sod, 
By Bonnivard!' 

This part of the lake of Geneva has acquired additional 
celebrity by its being identified with the perverted genius of 
the ' self-torturing' sophist Rousseau, who has here laid the 
scenery of his romance. The magnificent and exquisite 

* Bonnivard laid the foundation of the library at Geneva, by the gift 
of his own books and manuscripts, in 1551 ; he is supposed to have died 
in 1570. 



VEVAY. 237 

blending of mountain, rock, vineyard, wood, town, and castle, 
all around the head of the expanse, where the Rhone pours in 
its flood, — renders Meillerie, St. Gingo, Boveret, Villeneuve, 
Chillon, Clarens, and Vevay, an assemblage of scenes, which, 
for variety and picturesque beauty, are regarded as unrivalled, 
even in Switzerland. But to a well-regulated mind, the wild 
and solemn rocks of Meillerie derive but a melancholy inter- 
est as the modern Leucate of Rousseau ; nor do the heights of 
Clarens appear more picturesque, by being associated with the 
poison of his unbelief. — It was probably a feeling of a simi- 
lar kind that prevented Ferney, the residence of Voltaire, near 
Geneva, from being regarded by us with that sort of interest 
which might have induced a visit. 

Between two and three hours' sail from Lausanne, brought 
us to Vevay ; the whole voyage from Geneva having occupied 
nearly seven hours. There was little inducement to remain 
at Vevay ; as the sky now resumed its cloudy aspect, which, 
for a while, it had thrown off; and there seemed no prospect 
of fine weather for the present. This place owes it attraction 
to its situation on the lake ; but the absence of the sun, and 
the premature shadows of the evening, destroyed a great part 
of that effect, arising from light and shade, on which the 
charm of mountain-scenery so much depends. 

Vevay is remarkable for one of those local observances, 
which seem to point back to the transition of a country from 
heathenism to Christianity. Here, the laborers, of the corn- 
fields, and of the vineyards, have been accustomed to cele- 
brate a festival, every four years, with a strange medley of 
ceremonies, borrowed partly from paganism, partly from the 
Old Testament history, and partly from popery : — for in a 
grand procession, are seen mingling with each other, the pa- 
triarch Noah, with his ark ; a Romish Bishop ; a Bacchus, 
surrounded by his Maenades, and Satyrs ; Silenus seated on 
an ass ; and Ceres in her car, wearing a coronet of wheat- 
sheaves ; — also tripods, altars, victims with gilt horns, — and 
the like : this scene is accompanied with an immense con- 
course of people.* 

Here lies buried in the cathedral, Edmund Ludlow, one of 
the judges of the unfortunate Charles I., and a man who, 
whatever may be thought of his principles as a decided re- 
publican, at least merited the praise of consistency, — not al- 
ways due to politicians ; for he equally opposed the tyranny 
of Charles, and the ambition of Cromwell. At the Restora- 
tion, he retired to Vevay, where he received protection ; and 
at the Revolution under William of Orange, to whom his mili- 
tary talents recommended him, he returned to England ; but 

* Sec Ebel's Guide, 1820, p. 191. 



238 TRAVELLINGS 

being obnoxious to the House of Commons, in consequence of 
the part he had acted in bringing Charles to the block, he was 
compelled once more to take refuge at Vevay, where he end- 
ed his days in 1693. 

In those parts of Switzerland where diligences run, it is 
customary, when they are full, for the remaining passengers to 
be furnished with other carriages, which accompany the regu- 
lar public conveyance, and arrive at the appointed destination 
nearly at the same moment. So many persons were desirous 
of going to Freyburg, that all the places in the diligence were 
taken ; and it was an hour, or more, before a considerable 
number of individuals knew whether they could proceed. 
Some delay was occasioned, by the time occupied in ascer- 
taining whether there was a sufficient supply of horses to be 
had in the town, to furnish the vehicles that were required ; 
and such was the imperturable indifference of the book-keep- 
er, that he met, with equal sangfroid, the coaxing of some of 
the candidates, and the impatient reproaches of others ; all 
being equally desirous of securing accommodation. 

Our party obtained a commodious separate carriage ; but 
there was a complete scramble, among numbers, to get con- 
veyance, and many were left behind. Just as rain came on, 
the train of vehicles started, and ascended a very steep accli- 
vity, commanding a magnificent view of the lake, and of a 
part of its mountain-scenery, the outlines of which had an im- 
pressive appearance, being surrounded with threatening clouds. 
The storm brooded heavily over the expanse, from which a 
white mist had arisen, and was hovering on the surface, — so 
as to unite with the black cloud above, to produce the effect of 
an immense, and awful pall, hanging solemnly over the lake, 
and covering the distant landscape. The vision was darkly 
sublime. 

The road led up a mountain steep for several hours ; and 
when the ascent commenced, MM. les Conducteurs, who are 
here important personages, opened the doors of the vehicles, 
and exclaimed descendez, ordering the gentlemen to get out 
and walk, as is usual in these mountain districts, whatever be 
the weather. So long as it was light, the beauties of this pic- 
turesque and romantic road beguiled the journey ; but before 
we reached Chatel St. Denis, the thickening rain, and the ad- 
vancing shadows of the night, had blended all things in one 
universal gloom. 

At Biille, in the canton of Freyburg, the whole company in 
the train of vehicles, stopped about two hours ; as is common, 
in Switzerland, in travelling during the night. For, as the 
same horses frequently go the whole journey, it is necessary 
to give them rest, even if you have not to await the arrival of 
some diligence from another part of the country. 



fKEYBUfcG. 239 

A comfortable inn, a plentiful board, and great civility, re- 
lieved the tedium of delay ; which was further beguiled by a 
rather amusing episode, consisting of a noisy fracas, between 
a French lady and the host and hostess, while all the rest of 
the company sat in mute surprise. Madame had, by some 
means, fancied that sufficient attention and respect had not 
been paid to her dignity ; and the landlord and landlady, who 
seemed to be very worthy people, possessed, perhaps, some- 
what of the independence of the German innkeepers. They 
would not acknowledge any fault; and the lady began to faire 
Vimportante in high style, significantly insisting on her own 
consequence, on their ignorance who she was, — and employing 
similar cogent arguments of gentility, — till words ran high, 
and there was no lack of eloquence on either side : — the an- 
nouncement that all was in readiness for resuming the jour- 
ney, put an end to this somewhat comic scene. 

Those who travel in Switzerland, especially during the 
night, must not expect to meet with all the facilities which, in 
England, render a journey of twice the distance we had now 
to go, a mere trifle as to inconvenience, whether by night 
or by day. The carriage in which our party had been ac- 
commodated from Vevay, was exceedingly comfortable, and 
quite water-proof; but we no sooner took our seats to proceed 
from Biille, than it proved that an exchange had been made, 
by which we were far from being gainers ; for our present ve- 
hicle was in a somewhat crazy state, and was furnished only 
with an insufficient leathern curtain, which it was impossible 
so to hold together as effectually to keep out the rain. Our 
travelling companions were possibly no better off, as the ex- 
change of carriages appeared to be general. 

The whole company, consisting of about twenty-five per- 
sons, arrived, between five and six in the morning, at the very 
romantic city of Freyburg, capital of the canton ; having 
been twelve hours in performing a journey of thirty-six miles. 
The weather was so wet and cold, that a good fire, at the 
Hotel des Marchands, was highly acceptable. This appears 
to be an ancient inn ; and on ascending the staircase, a very 
curious and well-executed carving of cherubim, in wood, ar- 
rests the attention. 

The situation of Freyburg gives it a character altogether 
extraordinary ; part of the city being built on \\\e steep slopes 
of an elevated ridge of sand-stone rocks, and part on a plain, 
and the banks of the river Saane, or Sarine. .Many of the 
buildings project over an abrupl : recipice; and in one place, 
the bouses arc below the pavement of a street which runs 
above them. The effect ofthe fortifications is most picturesque : 
they consist of high walls, and antique toners ; and enclose 
a circuit of about four miles; in which are rocks, meadows, 



240 THE CATHEDRAL* 

gardens, and orchards, besides the town itself. The streets 
of a place so curiously situated must necessarily be irregular, 
and many of them arc steep ; but they are generally of con- 
siderable width, and clean ; and some of them terminate in 
agreeable open areas. The houses are rather neatly built of 
the grey sand-stone of the vicinity, rising above each other, 
according to the inequality of the ground. In the streets are 
many public fountains. 

The churches, and numerous other buildings, which either 
have been, or are still used as religions houses, give the town 
the appearance of being the strong hold of popery ; and there 
are many schools, in which the young are instructed in the 
principles of Romanism, which reigns powerfully in this can- 
ton. A few branches of manufacture are here carried on, 
and the population is about six thousand ; but, for a place of 
importance, the town has rather a lifeless air. 

The cathedral is a very handsome gothic structure ; with a 
tower, the loftiest, and containing the finest ring of bells in Swit- 
zerland. Its height is three hundred and fifty-six feet ; and 
its architectecture somewhat resembles that of the tower of 
St. Dunstan's in the west, in London. The exterior has a 
very fresh appearance, and must have been recently reno- 
vated. 

On approaching the entrance of this church, the traveller 
is at once unequivocally apprised that the edifice which he is 
about to enter is Romish. Over the great western door, is 
a strange sculpture, of which the subject is the general judg- 
ment. It contains one of those profane exhibitions, which are 
both disgusting to taste, and revolting to all correct religious 
feeling, — the representation of God the Father, as an old man. 
This central figure is surrounded by saints and angels, not 
omitting mitred ecclesiastics, — the whole group forming the 
celestial company. Elsewhere, is the infernal band ; and 
among the odd figures composing it, is one resembling the 
Egyptian god Anubis, having a human body, and a dog's face, 
and employed in carrying a basket full of children to hell : by 
such methods does the church of Rome work on the imagina- 
tion of her votaries ! 

It cannot fail to be remarked by the observant traveller in 
Catholic countries, that in such representations as these, 
priests are always brought forward as having a foremost place 
of influence and power. Tn a church which we somewhere 
entered, was a painting of purgatory, in which miserable 
creatures, tortured in a fiery abyss, were represented as hold- 
ing up their hands, with imploring looks, to mitred priests, 
who are seen on the clouds above, in the attitude of prayer 
to a lamb with a cross on its shoulder : the blood from the 
side of the lamb streams on the flames, which are thus damped, 



THE CATHEDRAL OF FREYBURG. 241 

at the intercession of the priests ; and angels with benev- 
olent smiles are stretching forth their hands, and lifting the 
tormented wretches out of the scorching gulf! Among these, 
infants are included : — what a picture to a mother's eye ! It 
is difficult, in beholding such scenes, not to feel the force of 
Milton's remark respecting the popish mitre — that it seems to 
resemble the stamp and impress of the ■ cloven foot.' 

What is there that is appalling to the imagination, and to 
the sense, which the church of Rome, in the plenitude of her 

Eower, has not resorted to, — in order to overawe the minds of 
er votaries, and to deter them from all freedom of inquiry, — 
and, as far as possible, even from the sacred and hidden lib- 
erty of thought ! The rack, the boot, the scourge, the flames, 
have each been employed to make its appeal to what is felt 
by mankind, in general, to be the greatest of all evils — bodily 
pain : — and what artifices have not been used to enslave the 
mind itself? Could all the secrets of the convent, and of the 
dungeon, be unfolded, during the disastrous millennium, when 
popery reigned almost triumphant over Europe, what horrors 
might not be proved to have been added to solitary confine- 
ment, by terrifying the imagination of the suspected heretic, 
with pretended supernatural voices, ghastly apparitions, and 
infernal visions 1 

Protestantism herself, unhappily, is not guiltless of the 
crime of persecution, though the catalogue of her cruelties 
may neither be so black, nor so ingeniously varied as that of 
Rome : so far, however, as she endeavors either to force or 
to bribe the unwilling homage of the infidel, by pains, penal- 
ties, or privileges, — or to wring from the Catholic the money 
which he hates to give, — she herself does but tread in the 
footsteps of the ■ Man of Sin ;' and becomes but an example of 
the transmigration of the spirit of Rome, into a new form, 
with another name. 

The cathedral of Freyburg is dedicated to St. Nicholas ; 
and among the instructive exhibitions of popery which are 
presented to view at the entrance, is an inscription in which 
the liberty has been taken of substituting the word Nicho- 
las for David. This occurs in a quotation from 2 Kings, xix. 
34, in which passage, Jehovah promises to protect Jeru- 
salem against the army of Sennacherib. The Freyburg 
version is the following : For I will defend this city, to save it, 
for wine own sake, and for my servant Nicholas's sake*. 

An elegant carved stone pulpit adorns this church, the inte- 
rior of which, however does not fulfil the promise of the exte- 
rior. Here, as elsewhere, everything seemed to indicate the 

* 'Protegam hano urbem, et salvabo earn, propter Nieolaum senrum 
meum.' IV. Reg. 19. 

VOL. VI. 21 



242 THE HERMITAGE. ROMANISM. 

full sway of superstition : and some poor people were coming 
along the isle with vessels of * holy water ;' — which is sup- 
posed to be of great efficacy in cases of disease. 

In hopes of sufficiently fair weather, arrangements were 
made for our visiting the celebrated Hermitage, which is dis- 
tant from Freyburg about three miles; but the rain which 
afterwards tell for some hours, in torrents, prevented this t;x- 
cursion. The hermitage consists of a church, with a steeple 
eighty feet high, a convent, a sacristy, and additional apart- 
ments, — all elaborately excavated from the sand-stone rock, 
by the hermit and his domestic, who were employed in this 
work for twenty-five years. 

The annals of Romanism furnish astonishing monuments 
of the energy of which perverted religious principle is capa- 
ble — witness the cathedrals of Europe. Happy did he think 
himself, who, amidst assembled crowds laid the foundation 
stone of one of these massy piles ; happy were his posterity in 
carrying on a work which was thought to merit the divine 
favor for all that were engaged in it ; and happier still did he 
deem himself, who saw the mighty fabric lift its gorgeous 
pinnacles to the skies, and who first trod in solemn proces- 
sion beneath its vaulted roof, and traversed its pillared aisles 
— tinged with the glorious hues of its storied windows, which 
transmitted all the dyes of heaven, to delight the eye, and to 
charm the imagination, — while the whole surrounding coun- 
try would be present to celebrate the memorable day, and to 
load with praise the men who, whether living or dead, had 
purchased an eternity of bliss by their benefactions to the 
church. 

Whatever gratification of teste may be derived from con- 
templating the beauties of architecture, it is painful to reflect 
—to how great an extent these splendid mountains of human 
labor and genius, originated in the attempt to find an opiate 
to conscience, and an atonement for crime ; while the grand 
catholicon for human guilt, and the grand instrument of human 
purification, the cross of Christ, was sunk into a mystic cere- 
mony. Among other examples of the attempt to purchase im- 
punity, by means of human merit, are the monasteries, and ca- 
thedrals, that have been founded by several of our Saxon kings. 
To beguile a thoroughly pouring morning, from twenty to 
thirty of the guests at the Hotel des Marchands hurried across 
the street to the cathedral, to hear the organ, which is a fine 
one, and was pealing through the aisles for the amusement of 
the weather-bound travellers, and to render the morning 
rather less irksome. This pastime, and the presence of a 
number of Protestant foreigners, whose general air and man- 
ner discovered that they felt no sympathy with the Romish 



ROMANISM AND PROTESTANTISM. 243 

ideas respecting consecrated places, did not seem in the least 
to interrupt the private worship of several individuals, who 
remained kneeling before the altars. 

It admits of little doubt that the practice of going through 
the detail of individual and personal devotion, in public, is in- 
consistent with the spirit of our Saviour's directions with re- 
gard to private prayer ;* — yet it may be affirmed that, at all 
events, the Roman Catholic appears to give no evidence of 
being ashamed of his religion : the outward act, at least, is 
observed, whoever may be present ; and it would seem that 
he knows little of that kind of compromise of his convictions 
to circumstances, which is but too common among those who 
bear the name of Protestants, and which frequently induces 
the neglect of religious duties, in the family, the social circle, 
or otherwise, — as a sacrifice to fashion, or a compliment to 
friends. The Catholic never seems afraid lest he should be 
thought too attentive to the external claims of his religion; 
while it is no unusual thing to find strenuous Piotestants, who 
are especially careful not to betray any symptoms of being 
in true earnest respecting the solemn realities of Christianity, 
apart from politics and worldly interest, and who appear to 
have a greater dread of Puritanism, than of irreligion. It may 
be replied, indeed, that Romanism inspires false motives, and 
tends to produce pride, and an ostentatious devotion : — but, if 
so, surely the purer faith of Protestantism should be professed 
with more consistency, and with greater fidelity to its claims. 

Among the Romish institutions of Freyburg, are a semi- 
nary for the education of priests, and a gymnasium ; also va- 
rious schools for young persons of both sexes, who are strictly 
trained under the discipline of the Catholic religion. One of 
these institutions is the ci-devant college of :he Jesuits. This 
building, which is furnished with towers like a castle, is situ- 
ated in a commanding manner, in the highest part of the city ; 
— well harmonising, in its general appearance, with the des- 
potic influence which the disciples of Ignatius Loyola have 
been enabled to exercise through the medium of superstition, 
over the minds of men. 

It is not till Freyburg is seen from the Bernese side, near 
the defile of Gettern, that the traveller receives the full im- 
pression of the very unusual, and picturesque situation, of this 
interesting and remarkable place. The splendid Pont de Fil 
de Fer, or iron suspension-bridge, which is now the boast of 
the Freyburgers, and has been erected within these two years, 
springs from one abrupt rock to another, over a chasm nine 
hundred feet in width, and at the elevation of a hundred and 
sixty feet above the river Saanc, which flows in the bed of 

* Matt. vi. 



244 SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 

this rocky ravine. Thus the steep and dangerous acclivity r 
by which carriages were before obliged to enter and leave 
Freyburg, is avoided. 

The view of the town from this side, partly built on a solid 
wall of rock, and rising in some places like an amphithea- 
tre of houses, convents and churches ; the fortifications, fol- 
lowing all the inequalities of rock and glen, and running up 
and down the precipitous sides of the chasm which is immedi- 
ately below the town ; the watch-towers, grotesquely perched r 
here and there, upon the crags ;— and the whole crowned 
with the elegant cathedral-tower, loftily dominant above all, 
— may be pronounced to constitute a scene so romantic, so 
wild, and so extraordinary, as to render Freyburg one of the 
wonders of Switzerland. 

In Geneva, and throughout the Pays de Vaud, French is 
the vernacular tongue : but in the Canton of Freyburg there 
is a mixture of languages ; and part of the population of the 
capital speak a German-French patois. At Bern the language 
is again German. The Burgundians established their domin- 
ion, in the fifth century, on both sides of the Jura, and in the 
territories bordering the lakes of Geneva and Neuchatel. In 
these parts, the Gallo- Roman dialect became vernacular, and 
from it arose successively, several varieties of the Romance, 
the Provencal, and ultimately the French. The Alemanni 
colonised themselves eastward of the Aar, and either expelled, 
or reduced to servitude, the ancient inhabitants, — till they 
themselves were subdued by the German Franks : hence the 
language of the German part of Switzerland. 

The difference of feature which obtains between the eastern 
and the western Swiss, has often been observed by travellers. 
It is supposed that in the marked and decided traits of the 
east, we see the lineaments of the ancient Alemanni ; while 
the softer and more curved outlines of the countenances of the 
western people, bespeak a Frankish origin. 

The distance from Freyberg to Bern is about eighteen 
miles. Half the way still lay through the Canton of Freyburg. 
The peasant women of this province have their hair plaited 
round the head, and wear large straw hats, ornamented with 
black lace. The district in which the capital is situated ap- 
peared rich and fertile, with pastures and w T oods. The coun- 
try of Gruyeres, which produces the well known cheese, is 
further southward. 

Our travelling, during this day, was at the rate of not 
more than four miles an hour. The horses required rest ; and- 
at a village near the border line of the two cantons, we ob- 
tained a plain wholesome meal, with much less of factitious 
cookery than usual, and therefore the more acceptable ; for 
we had often desired such fare in vain. A poor old woman. 



BERN. 245 

who served at this humble inn waited on us with the greatest 
attention, and a few unexpected additional batzen, given in 
consideration of her age, seemed to excite the liveliest grati- 
tude, and to make her think she could not do enough to re. 
pay us. 

The country continued hilly, — for Bern is situated remark- 
ably high, being no less than 522 feet above the level of the 
lake of Geneva, or 1,700 above the sea. During the afternoon, 
the weather became lowering ; black, portentous clouds cross- 
ed our road, and on the approach to Bern heavy storms of 
thunder and lightning played among the hills, and were al- 
ternately on our right and left, while we escaped between 
them. At length, Bern presented to view its antique towers, 
and its entrance ornamented with the figures of two large 
bears, the ancient emblem of the city. Over one of the inner 
gates is a huge figure of wood, somewhat in the style of Gog 
and Magog at Guildhall ; but the tradition of it we did not 
learn. 

■ This agreeable town is delightfully embosomed in verdure, 
and is terraced round with the foliage of the banks ot the Aar, 
which encircles a great part of the steep promontory on which 
Bern is built. The views from the ramparts, and the imme- 
diate neighborhood, especially that from the terrace on which 
the cathedral stands above the bed of the Aar, — are exqui- 
sitely beautiful, commanding the luxuriant environs, the ex- 
tensive adjacent country, and the course of the river. This 
rapid stream issues from the base of that stupendous granite 
pyramid the Finsteraarhorn, or dark peak of the Aar, in the 
Bernese Oberland, between the valley of Grindelwald, and 
the Valais. The Aar, at some distance from Bern, takes a north- 
easterly direction : and after watering the cantons of Solo- 
thurn, and Argau, is lost with the Reuss, and the Limmit, in 
the all-absorbing Rhine. 

The general appearance of this elegant place, is incompar- 
bly superior to that of any ether Swiss city we had seen. Its 
principal streets are adorned with fountains ; and are spa- 
cious, level, well-paved, and uniformly built of stone, — having 
piazzas or arcades, under which the shops are ranged. If 
Geneva, or Ziirich, be the Athens of Switzerland, Bern, for 
beauty, may claim to be the queen of all her cities. This is 
generally admitted. Bern however is considerably inferior 
in population to Geneva : it contains 18,000. 

As the Hotel de la Couroune was full, the host procured us 
excellent accommodations at a private house in the main 
street, opposite to the inn ; from which our provisions were 
punctually brought. This noble street must be the greater 
part of a mile in Length. Perhaps the arcades are too massy 
and low, to allow sutiicient light and ventilation to the shops ; 
21* 



246 BERN. 

but the effect of such extensive lines of arches is undoubtedly 
fine ; and they give to the city a certain air of grandeuiv 
Umbrellas and parasols must, here, be comparatively but lit- 
tle in request, as the shelter, both from sun and storm, is so 
complete . 

Though there is not much appearance of commerce in Bern r 
the new buildings and improvements which are going on in 
the suburbs, appear to indicate considerable public spirit in 
the inhabitants, and a laudable taste for the embellishment of 
their metropolis, — the means of which are abundant, in the 
beautiful stone that is dug in the neighbor flood. On the hills 
and slopes around the town, are also found granite, and cal- 
careous masses, which some ancient convulsions have pro- 
bably torn away, and conveyed to a distance, from their pa- 
rent mountains/ 

The cathedral of Bern is a handsome Gothic edifice, of the 
early part of the fifteenth century ; and is said to have been 
designed by the same architect who superintended the finish- 
ing of the Minister at Strasburg. Its steeple, which is rather 
lofty, is much admired. The interior is very neat, and four 
beautiful stained windows adorn the choir, the fifth having 
been destroyed, as the man who showed the church informed 
us, by one of those storms which sometimes sweep over this 
elevated country, from the Oberland Alps. Another church, 
of modern date, is in a style that recals to mind some of Queen 
Anne's churches in London. 

The Lohnbedienter,* whom the traveller engages in this city, 
will not fail to conduct him to the spot, where, according to 
the ancient usage, two living bears are kept, whose place is 
continually supplied, as they die, by others. Our guide was 
not a sufficient adept in his profession, and had not so far con- 
sulted his own interest as to be able to inform us what was 
said to be the origin of this custom, or what conjectures were 
held respecting it : he knew that bears had been there as long 
as he could remember, and that bears were there still ; and 
that was all he could tell of the matter. 

The Arsenal contained arms for sixty thousand men, before 
the French invasion, of 1798. Here are still to be seen several 
trophies of Helvetic valor, gained in defence of the country. 
There are, also, armed figures of the Three Swiss ; and of 
William Tell, whose son is represented with the apple on his 
head. Here too are kept a large quantity of small arms, and 
many pieces of artillery, some of brass, and very handsome ; 
all being ready for the service of the Confederation. 

♦Commissioner, or guide; literally hired servant; who charges five, 
six, or eight French francs for the morning, according to circumstances. 
The guides we met with in the cities were, in general, much less to be de- 
pended on, as to information, than the mountaineers, 



ROAD TO SOLEURE. 

The prison contains manufactories for the employment of 
the delinquents ; who are at the present time, also at work on 
the fortifications. The prisoners are classified, according to 
the nature of their offences. It is common in Switzerland for 
them to be thus engaged in labor on public works, — such as 
roads, preparing stone for building, and other similar objects. 
It has also been the custom in this country for criminals to go 
to their labor, in chains, and with bells on the tops of their 
hats, or bonnets : we saw prisoners to work, two or three times ; 
but did not observe that they had bells or chains. 

Among the public buildings in Bern, are the granary, the 
Hospital, the Town-house, and the Academy. The Library 
contains about 20,000 volumes. There are also several scien- 
tific and literary societies. 

On applying for places in the diligence to Soleure, distant 
about eighteen miles from Bern, we were accommodated, as on 
former occasions, with an excellent extra carriage. By this 
means, we lost the opportunity of travelling with two Capu- 
chin friars, — young men, whose round and rubicund visages 
seemed to proclaim no lack whatever of good cheer, or of re- 
pose of mind ; and whose only mortification seemed to be in 
their dress. During the journey, they chatted with their fel- 
low-travellers, without any appearance of reserve, and with 
great apparent good humor ; and seemed in quite as high glee 
as any of the company. 

Not long after leaving Bern, to ascend the hill on the north 
side, a beautiful view presented itself of the city, picturesquely 
crowning the banks of the Aar, and graced with the cathedral 
tower majestically rising in the centre of the mass of build- 
ings scattered over with other pinnacles and spires. The 
country was rich ; and the road excellent, and ornamented 
with numerous trees. A few miles on, we passed Hofwyl, cel- 
ebrated as the educational, and agricultural establishment, 
instituted by M. Fellenberg. 

The canton of Bern is the most populous and import- 
ant of the Confederacy, and its landscapes are regarded as 
exhibiting equal cultivation and industry with any part of 
Switzerland. The road to Soleure lay through the Aargau, 
or district of the Aar ; which river takes a circular sweep be- 
tween the two capitals in its course from Bern. This part of 
the canton present a very smiling and fertile appearance, and 
the farm-houses have an air of wealth and comfort. In many 
places the system of irrigation is carried to great perfection ; 
and it is said that the best meadows are valued at a high rate. 

This country is Protestant, and nothing is more frequently 
remarked by travellers, than the visible and striking differ- 
ence which commonly exists between the Protestant and Ca- 
tholic cantons, as to the appearance of the people, tho neat- 



248 COSTUME. 

ness and comfort of the cottages, and the management of the 
fields. There are of course great exceptions to this rule ; but 
the Protestant cantons seem almost as free from beggars, as 
from crosses ; while in those which are Catholic there is gene- 
rally an abundance of both. 

The costume of the women of this canton is, as usual, a 
striking feature of the country. They wear a black velvet 
bodice, with white full sleeves confined above the elbow, be- 
low which, the arm is covered with a kind of glove or tight 
sleeve. The hair is worn without curls, and is smooth in front ; 
and on the crown of the head is a close black cap, trimmed 
with coarse black lace, or horse-hair, — projecting far from the 
head, so as sometimes to remind you of Mercury, with the 
winged cap which Jupiter is fabled to have presented to him. A 
long plait of hair, and two streamers of ribbon, hang down the 
back, and almost touch the ground. The servants of the 
Pension at Interlachen, however, did not wear these long plaits 
behind, their hair being simply parted in front, and bound 
round the head with a band of black velvet ; but they had the 
Swiss bodice, ornamented with steel or silver chains. 

The grand charm of the journey from Bern to Soleure, 
consisted in the view which the road commands, of the Hel- 
vetian range of Alps. In a south-easterly direction, the mag- 
nificent spectacle presented itself, of the whole chaos, from 
the Wetterhorn, on the east, to the Bliimlis-alp, and a contin- 
uous line of lower mountains, on the west. It was interesting, 
from a distance, to behold stretched out in a vast chain, 
those mighty heads and masses, which inspire so much awe 
and delight, when contemplated from their bases in the Ober- 
land ; and which, here have the appearance of a huge snowy 
barrier, of from eight to fourteen thousand feet in height, form- 
ing a line of fifty or sixty miles in length, and varying in 
distance from Bern from forty to sixty miles. 

On the left in the chain, was the Wetterhorn, which seemed, 
agreeably to its name,* sternly to raise its pointed summits in 
defiance of the wintry storm : — next appeared the more ambi- 
tious Schreckhorn, higher by nearly a quarter of a mile, — 
proudly raising itself as an isolated pyramid, of proportions 
which seemed scarcely less exact than though it had been the 
mighty model of the puny piles of Egypt : — further to the 
right, the slender pike of the Finsteraarhorn, the loftiest of the 
range, was seen emerging from the snowy gulf, which, from 
this distance, appears to lie between it and the Schreckhorn, — 
piercing the heavens with its granite shaft, to the height of 
two miles and a half above the level of the sea : next were 
the Viescherhorn, and the two Eigers, Alps which rise, with 

* Weather peak, or Storm-peak, 



VIEW OF THE ALPS. 349 

the Wetterhorn, from the vale of Grindelwald : — still more 
eastward the broad and awful mass of the Jungfrau, like a 
huge mis-shapen tower, resplendent with its vast snows, stood 
in majesty among its peers, for magnitude more commanding 
than any, and though in elevation second of the gigantic chain, 
apparently dominant above all. 

Eastward of this mighty range of colossal towers and pyra- 
mids, and apparently forming part of it, inferior summits were 
crowded together, like a band of vassal powers, tributary to 
the supreme potentates, but all hoary with the snows of an 
eternal winter : — till yet farther to the right, the line of Alps 
subsided, and was lost in the dark shades of nearer and snow- 
less mountains. 

It is a maxim which is true to nature, that whatever is in- 
teresting, becomes more so in prospect of leaving it. We felt 
that this might probably be our last sight of the Alps : — for 
though it was our intention to cross the Weissenstein, a lofty part 
of the Jura range, and which commands a still more extensive 
view, — the weather had so alternated from fine to wet, since 
we had left Geneva, that, — gratifying as it was, in the present 
journey, to be so fortunate as not to lose the sight of the 
Northern Chain, — another view of the Alps was evidently 
very precarious. 

So in reality it proved : — for we were now gazing, for the 
last time, on these monuments of omnipotence : which seem 
to disdain communion with the earth, and rather to belong to 
the empyrean that rests its blue concave on their ice-bound 
summits, which have reared themselves, in shadowy grandeur, 
to the inhabitants of distant plains, through all the ages of 
ti m e, — the most impressive images of their Maker's eternity : 
presenting the same aspect to the successive ephemeral gene- 
rations of men, who have gazed on their unchanged and un- 
changing forms, for thousands of years ! 

Ye solemn piles ! ye everlasting hills ! 
Ye emblems of eternity l-^adieu ! 
'Twas thus ye seemed, when o'er your snowy wastes 
Gazed the fierce Alemann, the Ostrogoth, 
And conquering Frank, — as through each Alpine vale, 
The din of battle rung, and barbarous arms. 
And thus ye rose, what time the Helvetian host, 
Impatient of their bounds, and icy clime, 
Seeking new homes attacked the warlike Gaul, 
And pacified Orgetorix's shade. 

Thus to the Roman, when his eagle flew 
Invincible athwart each pass, ye stood, 
As wonder-struck he saw the frozen throne 
Of every monarch Alp, a cataract 



250 VIEW OF THE ALPS. 

Of ice, eternal crystal, rich with dies 
From heaven's all-glorious bow. Or earlier still, 
Ere Goth, or Roman, scaled your mighty walls, 
And spilt his soul for fame, thus ye appeared 
Dominant o'er earth, majestic in the skies, 
. While yet the hardy Celt his scanty fare 
"VV rung from the unwilling soil, through the long tract 
Of unknown time, and served nis cruel gods. 
So then, as now, first of all things below, 
Ye caught the kindling morn, and last at eve 
The fading blush detained, when all was gloom. 

Twas thus, ye mighty ones J ye hoary shades ! 
Ye ghosts of ages ! stood your spectral forms, 
Like fleecy clouds in the unsubstantial air 
All changed to solid marble, — domes and towers 
And pyramids, — the realm where reigns 
One unrelenting winter,— the high place 
Of heaven's dread thunders : — thus the human soul, 
Ye filled and awed, when first from Shinar's plain, 
Confused in tongue, the children of the flood 
Wandered the desolate earth, and to the west 
The sons of Japheth roamed :— Or in that hour, 
When, from the universal sea emerged, 
The everlasting granite, and the ice 
Of twice a thousand years, put on anew 
Their virgin mantle from the kindred sky. 
And thus, ye may, since Time began his course, 
Have look'd to mortal man ; — and even so 
To the angelic host that saw ye from the void 
Come forth, when darkness reigned, — till that command 
Pronounced, « Let there be light,' and all was good. 

Remnants of chaos ! eldest-born of Time I 
Shades of Eternity ! images of power, 
And might, and majesty 1 — tell on the praise 
And glory of your Maker to the Heavens, 
And to the earth, in silent eloquence, 
Awfully sweet and solemn, to inspire 
The heart with secret rapture, — such, as though 
Some holy chant broke forth in harmony 
From the celestial choir. Thus to the end, 
For ever shall ye be, as ye have been, 
Till that last trump shall thrill through all the air ? 
And rend your giant masses, from the height 
Where heaven is slumbering, to the central deep, 
With crash of thousand thunders, and ye bow 
Your shrouded heads in fearful ruin down, 
The Avalanche of Time, crumbling in dusts 
So shall ye be as ye had never been,^~ 
Lost in the wreck of worlds I 



CANTON OF SOLEURE. 251 



LETTER XVIII. 

Canton of Soleure. The City. Cathedral of St. Ur«U3. Romanism. 
The Weissenstein. Past* of the Jura. The Jura mountains, 
Isolated masses. Hollstein. Swiss cookery, and dinners. Liech- 
stall. Basle. Swiss Travelling. Punishment for distributing 
religious Tracts, in Schwytz. French Church. Missionary Col- 
lege. Religion in Switzerland. Present State and Prospects. 
Education. 

My dear Friend : — The soil of the canton of Soleure is con- 
sidered as productive as any in Switzerland, and very fine 
cattle are seen in the pastures ; which are much improved by 
the same system of irrigation that is practised in Bern. There 
is a considerable portion of arable land ; aud the agricultural 
laborers are very numerous in proportion to the population ; 
which does not amount to more than sixty thousand. In the 
approach to the city of Solothurn, or Soleure, the back- 
ground of the landscape is formed by the romantic, though 
comparatively humble Jura ; part of the chain of which runs 
within two miles of this capital, — the whole range stretching 
from ninety to a hundred leagues in length, in a north-easterly 
direction, from the west of Savoy to the canton of Schaffhau- 
sen, and varying in breadth from fifteen to eighteen leagues. 

The picturesque little city of Soleure stands in a delightful 
plain on the banks of the Aar, which divides it into two parts. 
It is fortified by a ditch, walls, and bastions, surmounted with 
antique-looking towers. In the centre of the town, is a large 
tower said to be the work of the Romans. Though Soleure is 
small and mean, as compared with Bern, the public uuildings 
still give it the air of a capital. Among these are the Town- 
house ; the Arsenal ; the Public Library, containing about 
11,000 volumes; the handsome church of the Jesuits, erected 
by Louis XIV. ; and, above all, the cathedral, which is devoted 
to the Romish worship, — this canton being chiefly Catholic. 

This church, which is dedicated to St. Ursus, stands at the 
end of the principal street, and is a noble structure, built of a 
whitish grey stone which approaches to marble, and is brought 
from the neighboring quarries. It was erected about sixty 
years ago, and its design is exceedingly chaste and beautiful. 
The tower at the eastern end is elegant, and the western front 
consists of a lofty and superb facade, in the Grecian style In- 
deed this is universally admitted to be the finest church in 
Switzerland. The ascent to it is by a magnificent flight of 



252 SOLEUEE. 

steps, and is adorned with two fountains, the sound of which, 
as heard at the adjacent inn, had the effect of a continual pour- 
ing rain. 

The interior of this splendid temple displays much taste, 
and is furnished with a very handsome organ, pictures, nu- 
merous altars, and a pulpit of fine marble ; but none of the 
decorations exhibited the least of that tawdry and paltry orna- 
ment which we had so particularly observed in the Valais, 
and in Savoy. 

In the evening, the toll of the deep-toned bell fell booming 
dolefully on the ear, and seemed to proclaim to the dark 
masses of the Jura, the reign of Romanism. The door of the 
church was still open, late in the dusk : and though no public 
service was going on, one solitary lamp shed a glimmer over 
the now gloomy vaults of this spacious edifice, through which 
the bell, still tolling monotonously without, sent its heavy se- 
pulchral swell, tending to fill the mind with a deep emotion of 
solemnity, — while here and there a lingering devotee was ris- 
ing from before an altar consecrated to the Madonna or to a 
Saint. 

In the strong appeal which the Romish religion makes to the 
senses, and through them to the imagination, the Protestant 
sometimes feels how great a sublimity there may be in evil, — 
even in the * mystery of iniquity ;' and how easily imagination 
and sentiment may throw a veil over error, beguile the rea- 
son, and enslave the conscience. Hence the conversions from 
Protestantism to Popery which we occasionally hear of, as 
taking place among persons of education, and where no motive 
of sordid self-interest can be traced. Romanism is undoubtedly 
a religion of poetry ; and it is thus that those who have not 
learned well to "distinguish between the splendor of a cere- 
monial, arid the sober realities of truth, may be dazzled with 
the best dress of Popery. The domination of the Romish faith 
in this city may be conjectured from the fact that, in a popula- 
tion of four thousand five hundred souls, there are sixty eccle- 
siastics, or one to every seventy-five indviduals. 

The weather was such the next morning, as to preclude all 
hope of obtaining the magnificent view of the Alps from the 
chalets of the Weissenstein ; and on our leaving Soleure, 
heavy black clouds hung over this part of the mountain range, 
and the distant line of the Jura was wrapped in its ' misty 
shroud.' We crossed the chain, therefore, at a less elevated 
point, through a defile, on the road to Basle. 

In a journey like the present, it may be well to have a soul 
not incapable of feeling somewhat of the beauties and sublimi- 
ties of nature; — but this is not enough, — a little practical 
thoughtfulness respecting homelier matters is also desirable ; 
nor will it always do to trust to guides, coachmen, or attend- 



SOLEURE. 253 

ants. A trifling circumstance had nearly proved an exempli- 
fication of this; — for had we not taken care to have our lug- 
gage removed from the hollow roof of the vehicle we had 
hired, where it had been placed, we should certainly have suf- 
fered the discomfiture of having our things drenched, by being 
continually jumbled in a pool of water, notwithstanding the 
repeated assurances to the contrary — gar nicht, Herr — from 
the driver, in reply to the inquiry whether any mischief would 
arise. 

The former part of the road across the mountains to Basle, 
was sometimes exceedingly picturesque, — between bare rocks 
or beetling cliffs, dark and frowning with foliage, — and occa- 
sionally crowned with the ruins of an ancient castle ; — showing 
that we were no longer in those regions where man has ob- 
tained no dominion over the high places of nature. At the 
entrance of the defile of Ballstall, near Soleure, a number of 
prisoners were at work on the road, dressed in clothes of glar- 
ing colors, and guarded by an- armed soldier. The prison dis- 
cipline of Soleure is said to be very good. 

The vast range of the Jura divides Switzerland from Ger- 
many and France, and runs nearly parallel to the Northern 
chain of Alps, at the distance of from twenty 10 thirty leagues. 
On one side of Switzerland it rises, often very abruptly, to the 
height of from two to four thousand feet above the plains ; the 
ridge forming an undulating line. In some places the chain, 
when seen from a distance, has precisely the appearance of a 
huge massy wall, stretching as far as the eye can reach. This 
effect is particularly impressive in the evening twilight, when 
the Jura is darkened with its own shadows. Sometimes, at 
sunset, the whole ridge within the field of vision, surmounted 
with a red sky, seems to glow like a furnace, or as one vast 
fiery beacon. 

Along this chain, summits occasionally rise from six hundred 
to two thousand feet above the neighboring ridge. One of the 
highest is the Dole, which is elevated nearly 4,000 feet above 
the lake of Geneva, from which it is distant about three 
leagues. Mont Tendre, which is more to the north-east, and 
Mont Thoiry in trie Pays de Gex, are computed to be nearly of 
the same elevation with the Dole. As no part of the Jura is 
within the line of perpetual snow, there are no glaciers, as 
among the higher Alps ; though their germ, as it were, is seen, 
in the large masses of ice which are sometimes found in the 
hollows, unmelted during the summer. 

The whole chain of the Jura is shaded with forests ; and the 
valleys are often exceedingly rich in meadow land, and exhibit 
the most romantic landscapes. The wolf ranges among these 
mountains ; ana the traveller along the road, may occasionally 
see him descending from their sides into the plain to pay a 

vol. vi. 22 



254 PASS OF THE JUK£. 

visit to the sheep-fold. In the wildest parts, even the brown 
bear has been found to prowl, and is said to have done exten- 
sive mischief, a few years ago, among the cattle. 

The stratification of these mountains is considered, as, in 
some respects, very remarkable ; and the position, inclination, 
and junction of the strata, are highly interesting to the geolo- 
gist. The ridge is formed of compact limestone, containing 
numerous, and occasionally, somewhat rare petrifactions. The 
strata alternate with beds of marie and clay. Gypsum, as- 
phaltum, and fine marble, also occur ; and sulphuretted and 
saline springs are found. In some parts iron is abundant. 

The remarkable phenomenon of the isolated masses of 
gneiss and granite, that lie scattered over the acclivities of this 
chain, which are opposite to the Alps, has much exercised the 
attention of scientific men, as there is no gneiss or granite com- 
posing the ridge. Similar masses occur in the Saleve moun- 
tains near Geneva. One of these fragments, which lies on the 
Jura near Neuch&tel, was measured by Professor Playfair of 
Edinburgh, in 1817 : and was found to be sixty-two feet long, 
thirty-two feet wide, and seventeen in height. These detached 
masses would seem to betray an origin in the primitive Alps. 

The part of the Jura over which the road lies from Soleure 
to Basle, is called the Hauenslein, a portion of the same ridge 
which we had before crossed in travelling from Basle to Lu- 
cerne. These mountains separate the cantons of Soleure and 
Basle. 

Having fairly cleared this delightful pass of the Jura, we 
reached Hollstein, a considerable village in Basle, and re- 
mained there two hours to rest the horses. Wishing to have a 
plain repast soon ready, rather than to dine a la Suisse, and to 
wait for the long-preparing medley to which the traveller on 
the road is generally obliged to submit, we signified that a chop, 
or some cold meat would best please us. After waiting a full 
hour, cold meat was brought up, accompanied with hot meat, 
fish, and fowl, and a variety of culinary preparations, none of 
which were very agreeable, and the cold meat was the only 
thing we could at all fancy. One dish puzzled us a good deal ; 
it was a bird of a large size, dissected into fragments, and so 
unconscionably tough that it was like a piece of boiled leath- 
er ; but none of us could decide what it was. The servant, 
on being asked, replied einHahn, Herr; in fact it turned out to 
be none other than an old chanticleer who had, many a morn- 
ing, called up the laborers to their work with his matin song. 
So much for country Swiss cookery. For this dinner the 
charge was two French* francs and a half each, which was 

* In Switzerland accounts are kept in Swiss francs, batzen, and 
rappen ; ten batzen, or a hundred rappen, being equal to a Swiss 



COOKERY. 255 

much higher, in proportion, than what was paid at the best 
hotels in Switzerland. 

At the most frequented hotels, the fare may often perhaps 
suit the gourmind; but an English traveller who may be 
tempted by curiosity to try a dish, will sometimes be glad to 
make a hasty exchange of it for another. Besides he will al- 
ways be ready to suspect the crambe repetita,* which may so 
readily be brought to table, where there is so artificial a mode 
of cooking, and so great a variety of dtshes, as are usual on 
the continent. You" are apt to fancy that almost anything 
might be served up, in the shape of a fricassee, a ragovt, or a 
fricandeau, or some compound, smothered with sauces, jellies, 
sweets, and sours. 

The practice is for travellers to have their meals, especially 
dinner, at the table d'hote; and in many places, two dinners 
are served to meet the convenience of the guests ; the first at 
one o'clock, the other at four : the charge varies from three to 
four French francs. The Alp-horn often winds to announce 
dinner ; at which the host generally presides, in full dress, to 
direct the movements of the waiters, who are frequently as- 
sisted by the servants of the company. At the larger towns, 
and the frequented places, the hotels, during the travelling 
season, are often crowded with guests, a large proportion of 
whom are generally English. As many as sixty persons have 
sat down to dinner, at one time, at the inn on the Rigi-Kulm ; 
and travellers often find superior accommodations, in places 
remote from all high roads. 

After the soup has been served, fish, various courses of meat, 
and fowls ready carved, are brought round the table by the 
waiters. Then, when the meat-plates have been removed, ve- 
getables of different kinds are introduced ; and if you ask for 
any of these, the waiters invariably take away the plate that 
is before you, and bring the vegetables alone. A variety of 
pastries and jellies next cover the board ; and the scene is 
closed by an ample dessert, with cheese so savory that deli- 
cate olfactory nerves are, not unnecessarily, protected from it 
by a glass cover. 

The guest must beware of so far fancying himself at home, 
as to venture an attack on any dish which may be before him, 
until the waiters have regularly brought it round ; for we re- 
peatedly saw the Oberkeller, or head waiter, without ceremony, 

franc, which is equal to a French franc and a half, less by seven 
centimes. French silver money is given in exchange for notes at the 
banks; and though heavy rolls of French five-franc piecos are in- 
convenient to curry, in some places, gold was not to be had at all. 

* Juv. vii. 154. The same thing brought forward many times ; 
literally, the repeated cabbage. 



256 BASLE. 

take dishes away from gentlemen who were about to help 
themselves. There is always plenty of the ordinary wine of 
the country on the table : any other sort is charged separately, 
and varies in price from one and a half, to eight French francs, 
a bottle. Of beer there either is none, or when obtained, it is 
seldom very inviting to an English palate. It is not customa- 
ry to sit long after dinner, nor is wine usually drunk after- 
wards ; and both ladies and gentlemen rise together from the 
table. 

The situation of those who happen to become invalids at 
these frequented inns, is, as may be supposed, far from envia- 
ble, as it is exceedingly difficult for them to get served with a 
plain dinner, in a private apartment.; for the important busi- 
ness of the table d'hote absorbs everything, — this affair being 
naturally regarded, by the host and all his servants, as the 
grand event of the day, to which everything else must be 
made to bend. 

On arriving at Leichstall, we were again in the road which 
had previously led us from Basle, over the Unter-Hauenstein, 
and through part of the cantons of Soleure and Argau, to Lu- 
cern. Liechstall is situated in a fertile valley, and, though a 
small town, has several different kinds of manufacture : since 
the late revolution in the canton of Basle, it has become the 
capital of the country district. The Rhine now presented it- 
self, in its flow from ihe lake of Constance and the fall of 
SchafFhausen, towards Basle ; and the elegant twin spires of 
the cathedral rose, in their chaste beauty, above the foliage of 
the luxurious vale which here borders the river. 

It was seven in the evening when we passed the city gates, 
and arrived at the Stork Hotel, the name of which, perhaps, 
may have been originally suggested by the presence of the 
numerous storks that vie-it this climate in the spring, and which 
are supposed to migrate from Kgypt. Their large nests crown 
some of the towers of Basle ; and these birds are seen at other 
places along the Rhine, sitting in solemn peculiarity on the 
highest buildings they can find. 

The distance from Soleure to Basle is about thirty-five miles; 
and we were nearly twelve hours on the road, including the' 
stay of two hours at Hollstein. When you ask, at the Swiss 
or German inns, the distance of a place to which you wish to 
go, you are told that it is so many Stunden, or hours, zu Fuss 
zu gehen (to walk,) and so many zu fahren, (to ride in a car- 
riage ;) but, in Switzerland, the difference is practically but 
small, for an active pedestrian would, in general, arrive at the 
place of destination as soon as the Miethwagen, or hired car- 
riage. The Postwagen, (diligences,) get over the ground more 
quickly, as they change horses on the road. 

At most of the inns, in the more frequented places, men, 



SWISS TRAVELLING. 257 

having carriages and horses, are to be found waiting to be 
hired, and importunately offering their services. Those who 
engage a carriage from the place to which it belongs, are 
obliged, whether they leturn or not, to pay the back fare, 
whicii is the same as the other. In some parts, the law does 
not allow any other passengers to be taken back in a hired 
carriage, from the place of its destination, to that from which 
it came, excepting the same party who have originally engag- 
ed it. At Kandersteg, the man who had driven us from Inter- 
lachen was applied to, by some individuals who wished to go 
to that place ; but he intimated, when asked in the presence 
of other people, that he could not take the party : the difficul- 
ty, however, as we understood, was got over by their going a 
little way out of the village of Kandersteg, and allowing the re- 
turn carriage to overtake them. 

? The vehicles we met with were, generally, very commo- 
dious, capable of being open or shut, and some of them would 
have held six persons. Both the horses and the carriage fre- 
quently belong to the driver himself; which may account for 
the extreme care which is often taken of the horses, and the 
slow pace at which they go, even where the road is good and 
level. Our coachman from Soleure to Basle, stated that he 
was making his way homewards, towards Zurich; and that 
his horses had been constantly employed, for eighteen succes- 
sive days. 

The usual charge, including the back-fare, for a day's jour- 
ney, varying from eighteen to thirty-six miles, is thirty-six 
French francs, besides a few francs for Trinkgeld,* which is 
always asked for.f Thus a successful summer's circuit may 
produce to a poor Swiss, a comfortable income for the winter. 
Our driver acknowledged that he followed his occupation alike 
on the sabbath as during the week, and his observations prov- 
ed that he was as much absorbed in his little gains, as the 
more ambitious devotee of the world on the grand scale, 
though he acknowledged that he had discovered that the more 
he obtained the less he was satisfied. We gave him some of 
our remaining tracts, and he promised to read them to his wife 
and family at Ziirich, during the winter evenings. 

On going, the day after our return to Basle, to witness the 
sharp-shooting evolutions of some of the troops, we were 
thrown into the society of a Swiss gentleman, who had recent- 
ly been fined, to the amount of about twenty pounds English, 

* Drink-money. 

tOvcr the mountains, the charge for guides in attendance on a ehaise- 
a-porteurs, was six French francs, each man, per day: for a horse or 
mule, with a man to lead it, twelve francs. For a char-a-banc from Clia- 
monix to Salenche, fifteen miles, sixteen francs were paid. ThePostwa- 
gen from Bern to Soleure, eightoen miles, was five francs. 
22* 



258 BASLE. 

for having distributed religious tracts, in the deeply-bigoted 
popish canton of Schwytz. The government of this canton is 
said to be so poor, that they are not sorry to have a tolerable 
pretext for adding a little to their coffers, and the present op- 
portunity was too good to be neglected. We had heard, dur- 
ing our tour in Switzerland, of two other instances of persecu- 
tion, either in Schwytz, or in some other Romish canton, for 
the same offence : one case was that of two young men from 
Lausanne, and the other we understood to be that of a gentle- 
man from England. 

Fine and imprisonment are the reward which the Christian 
may expect to obtain, in the Catholic districts of Switzerland, 
for all endeavors to attract the attention of men to the inter- 
ests of eternity. Thus the light is shut out from these regions 
of superstition, and spiritual tyranny ; for the Protestant can- 
tons can do nothing to remedy the mischief, as each canton is 
governed entirely by its own laws, and the Confederacy does 
but give power and efficiency, by the weight of its general in- 
fluence, to the enactments of the separate local and independ- 
ent legislatures. 

Some of the citizens of Basle are in the habit of meeting, on 
the Saturday afternoon, for a little country air, and coffee, at 
the distance of about two miles from the city. Through the 
kindness of an English gentleman, Mr. Marriott, whose friend- 
ly attentions rendered both our visits to Basle very agreeable, 
I was introduced to this party ; as, also, at the rooms of Lese- 
gesellschaft, or Reading Society, which commodious apart- 
ments, for reading and conversation, are situated in the best 
part of the city, in the large area near the cathedral. By this 
means, I had the honor of making the acquaintance of Herr 
Borckhart, President of the Civil-gericht, one of the law-courts 
in Basle ; Rathsherr* Hensler, formerly one of the law profes- 
sors in the university ; Herr Merian, the late professor 
of chemistry ; and Professor Schonbein, who now fills 
the chemical chair, and who speaks English with flu- 
ency. I had also the pleasure of being introduced to Dr. 
Fischer, the professor of philosophy, who kindly gave me a 
copy of his recent work entitled Die Naturlehre der Seele fur 
Gebildete. 

On the Sunday morning, we went to the French church, a 
venerable structure, in which a considerable audience was as- 
sembled. The sermon was on 1 Cor. xi. 26, and was prepa- 
ratory to the Lord's Supper. The discourse was excellent, 
and pleasingly delivered. It showed that the eucharist was 
unworthily celebrated, when mere rational Christianity was 

* It is customary to speak of, as well as to address, persons who hold 
any public station, by the title which belongs to it : Rathsherr means 
Councillor or member of the governing body. 



MISSION COLLEGE. THE REFORMATION. 259 

the only basis of communion ; and when the symbols of the 
body and blood of Christ were received without a practical 
faith, which did not consist in a mere speculative assent of the 
understanding to the facts relating to the history of Jesus. The 
preacher insisted that the faith of the Gospel was a belief in 
which the will was concerned, and which interested the affec- 
tions of the soul : that it was directed to the atonement of 
Christ ; that various acts of piety were a necessary conse- 
quence of it ; and without it there could be no acceptable wor- 
ship of God, who looks at the heart : — sentiments these, which, 
happily, bear no resemblance to rationalism. 

I had the pleasure of spending part of the Sabbath evening, 
at the Mission College, having, in our former visit to this city, 
been introduced to the excellent Dr. Blumhart, who discovered 
great interest in the state of religion in England. This Theo- 
logical College is chiefly supported from Germany ; and has 
at present forty missionary students. While supper was wait- 
ing on the table, the venerable President, or ' Inspector,' as he 
is called, took off his black velvet cap, and gave out, memoriter, 
some lines of a hymn, relating to the atonement ; all imme- 
diately stood up, and sang in a lively manner, the good old 
man pitching the tune. He afterwards prayed with great fer- 
vor ; and when supper was ended, another hymn was sung. 
The scene could not be witnessed, without producing a delight- 
ful feeling that under changing skies, and the reign of differ- 
ent languages, Christianity is still the same. 

In Switzerland, as in most other countries of Europe where 
the Reformation from popery obtained a footing, it was but 
partial in its extent. The opposition of Luther, however, to 
the power of the Roman pontiff, in Germany, communicated 
an early impulse to the Swiss cities. The Reformation was 
begun at Ziirich, by Zuinglius, in 1519: that of Bern was ef- 
fected, in 1528, through the labors of Haller ; and that of 
Basle followed in the next year, under the guidance of Oeco- 
lampadius. Farel was the" agent in the same great work, at 
Neuchatel, in 1530 ; and it was commenced by him, in 1532, 
at Geneva, and completed, by Calvin, in 1535. These cities 
became so many fountains, from which the streams of evange- 
lical truth flowed to bless remoter districts. Yet in many 
parts of this interesting country, the reformed doctrines either 
failed of taking root, or never reached a vigorous and fruitful 
growth. 

Of the twenty-two cantons which have composed the Con- 
federacy, since the pacification of Europe in 1815, Lucerne, 
Ticino, the Valais, Schwytz, Unterwalden, Zug, and Uri, are 
Catholic ; us are full eleven twelfths of the inhabitants of Fri- 
burg, and Soleure. In Bern, Zurich, the Pays de Vaud, SchafY- 



260 STATE OF THE PROTESTANT 

hausen, Neuch&tel, Basle, and Geneva, Protestantism has great* 
ly the ascendency. So far as numbers are concerned, the 
same may be said, of the two denominations, with regard to 
Thurgau, Appengell, and Glaris. Argau, the Gnsons, and St. 
Gall, are more mixed. 

In 1827, the whole population of Switzerland was 2,037,000. 
Of this amount, excluding nearly 2,000 Jews, three-fifths were 
Protestants ; the remaining two-fifths being Catholics. There 
were 120 convents, nearly divided between monks and nuns. 
The bulk of the population speak German : of the remainder, 
about 438,000 use the French language, 120,000 the Italian, and 
48,000 the Romanish. 

During the latter part of the 18th century, the light that was 
kindled by the Reformation underwent an extensive and de- 
plorable eclipse, on the continent of Europe, by the rise and 
prevalence of a latitudinarian philosophy : and, in Switzer- 
land, the fundamental truths of Christianity were in danger of 
being overwhelmed, by the tide of error and infidelity which 
set in from Germany and France, — the languages and litera- 
ture of both these countries being found in the Swiss cantons. 

Previously to the year 1816, it is said that, out of the canton 
of Basle, it was difficult to enumerate so many as six clergy- 
men who decidedly preached the doctrines of the Reforma- 
tion. About this period, several individuals connected with 
the Academy of Geneva, among whom were MM. Malan, 
Guers, NerT, Gaussen, Empetaz, and others, imbibed the prin- 
ciples of evangelical truth ; and the happy result has been the 
resuscitation of the ancient faith, in Geneva, and in other 
places, where spiritual apathy and death had long reigned un- 
der the plausible name of rational religion. 

Geneva, the grand seat of antiscriptural error, has thus had 
the honor to be a prime agent in a second Reformation ; and 
there are now, in that city, a number of active evangelical min- 
isters, who are occupied in various labors. The gospel is at 
all times faithfully preached in three chapels ; and several re- 
ligious societies are doing much good in the canton, as well as 
in the adjacent parte of France. There is a College of evan- 
gelical Theology, with several able professors, who instruct 
from twenty to thirty young men in preparation for the Chris- 
tian ministry. Similar institutions exist in other places, as at 
Lausanne, and Basle ; at which latter city the College is de- 
voted to the training of missionaries. 

The entire number of evangelical Protestant ministers in 
Switzerland, is supposed to be at least two hundred ; of whom 
nearly half are in the canton de Vaud : and Bible, tract, and 
missionary societies, are now formed, at Geneva, Lausanne, 
Neuchatel, Bern, Basle, Schaffhausen, Zurich, and other 
towns. Sunday-schools also exist in some places ; and tern- 



■RELIGION IN SWITZERLAND. 261 

perance societies have begun to be established. The minds of 
some good men appear to have been particularly directed to 
the importance of promoting, by moral means, the better ob- 
servance of the Sabbath, the desecration of which has been so 
marked a feature of the irreligion of the continent. 

The persecution which evangelical Christians had to endure, 
a few years ago, from their fellow Protestants of the * liberal' 
or 4 rational* party, in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchatel, 
and others, has either disappeared, or is greatly modified : but 
in the Catholic cantons strenuous efforts are made to exclude 
the light ; and in many places no attempts to propagate the 
Protestant faith are allowed. 

The progress of genuine Christianity in Switzerland, is 
marked by a continual increase of religious publications. Nor 
.do those friends of evanglical truth who have separated them- 
selves from the National Church, fail to publish, in a suitable 
manner, the reasons which have governed their conduct. In 
travelling we had once for our companion a young man who 
was reading a tract on this subject, which he kindly gave to us. 
It was printed at Bern, and is entitled 4 The Separated, or the 
United Ones, described by one of their Preachers.' This little 
treatise is written in an excellent spirit, in the form of a dia- 
logue ; and lays great stress, as a reason for separation, on the 
extreme neglect of discipline that has prevailed in the national 
church, contrary to the express command of Scripture, and 
even to the acknowledged formula of the Heidelberg cate- 
chism.* It appears that there are both Psedo, and Antipaedo- 
Baptists among those who have seceded ; but this difference of 
sentiment does not divide them into sectional communities.f 

The attention which is paid in many parts of Switzerland 
to popular education, may be regarded as a favorable omen for 
the future religious prospects of the country, if commensurate 
efforts shall be made to inculcate the principles of Christianity 
on the youthful mind. In no part of Europe, probably, are the 
means of early education more amply furnished than in some 

* Wenn wir tibrigens den Befehl des Herrn, den Bosen hinaus zu thun, 
beobachten, — so sind wir desswegen nicht abtrunnige Protestanten ; 
denn es lehrt euch ja selber euer Katechismus auf die Frage: ' Sollen aber 
zu diesem Abendmahle auch zugelassen werden, die sich mit ihrem Be. 
kenntniss und Lcben als Unglaubige und Gottlose erzeigen 1 Nein : denn 
es wird also der Bund Gottes geschmaht, und sein Zorn uber die ganze 
Gemeine gereitzet: desswegen die christliche Kirche schuldig ist, nach 
der Ordnung Christi und seiner Apostel, solche, bis zur Besserung ihres 
Lebens, durch das Amt der Schiissel auszuschliessen.' 

+ Aber diesser Punkt wird, so wie alle untergeordneten Punkte nicht zum 
Bedinge unserer Gemeinschaft gemacht. Nicht die Wassertaufe maclit 
uns zu Brudern, sondern die Geistestaufe ; und wir glauben dass wir una 
gegenseitig vertragen sollen in diesen Abweichungen.' Die Separirten 
oder Die Vereinigten, dargestellt von einem ihrer Prediger. Bern, 1835, p. 
9. 



2C2 EDUCATION IN SWITZERLAND. 

of the Swiss cantons. The most improved plans, as those of 
Lancaster, and Bell, have been adopted, and comparisons have 
been instituted between these and the older methods, with a 
view to render education as efficient as possible. 

In the Pays de Vaud, a few years ago, the amount of the po- 
pulation attending school was one-eighth part; which was 
considerably above the proportion of England, and even great- 
er than that of Scotland, not to compare it with the neighbor- 
ing country of France, where the ratio was only about one in 
twenty-eight. 

The school of Pestalozzi, at Yverdun, was the first in Swit- 
zerland, into which the philosophical system was introduced 
which is now making progress in various parts of Europe, 
founded on the application of the fundamental laws of the hu- 
man mind to the practice of education, and on the principle of 
cultivating the faculties of observation, association, and judg- 
ment, rather than loading the memory with indigested mate- 
rials, according to the ancient method. It was found, on com- 
paring the old and the new system together in this canton, 
that, as nearly as could be ascertained, out of an equal num- 
ber of children, those who acquitted themselves well in several 
branches in which they were examined, were in the propor- 
tion of about twenty-seven to fifteen, in favor of the new me- 
thod. 

The School of Industry at Hofwyl, near Bern, was founded 
by Fellenberg, with the design of combining intellectual edu- 
cation with the pursuits of agriculture, as part of a system 
which might also be extended to manufacturing employments. 
Pupils have attended this institution from Germany, France, 
and England, who have afterwards been eminent for litera- 
ture and science. 

The exclusively academic or university institutions, are at 
Basle, Geneva, Zurich, Bern, and Lausanne: — and in this 
country in general, the sciences belonging to natural philoso- 
phy, and natural history, are much pursued. 



ROAD FROM BASLE INTO FRANCE, ST. LOUIS. 263 



LETTER XIX. 

Departure from Basle. Huningen. St. Louis. Alsace. History. 
Douane. Mullhausen. Befort. Vesoul. Langres. Chaumont, No- 
gent. Provins. Nangis. Road to Paris. Military Operations and 
Events of 1814. 

My dear Friend : — We left Basle at an early hour in the 
morning, to proceed to Paris, having taken places as far as 
Chaumont, the chief town in the department of the Upper 
Marne, distant from Basle about sixty leagues. 

On the left bank of the Rhine, and not far from the city of 
Basle, is the fortress of Huningen, celebrated during the inva- 
sion of France by the allied armies in 1815, in consequence of 
the resistance here made by a hundred and forty men, who 
were shut up within its walls, to a force of twenty-five thou- 
sand Austrians. When half the number of the defenders had 
been slain, the rest capitulated ; and the fortifications were de- 
molished by the victors. The town of Huningen itself, which 
had previously contained nearly eight thousand inhabitants, 
now possesses scarcely a thousand ; such are the ruinous ef- 
fects of war, and so disastrous is the glory acquired by its most 
applauded deeds ! 

At one period of the same memorable war, waged by the 
European powers for the dethronement of Bonaparte, the in- 
habitants of Basle itself were in much consternation, as shots 
were repeatedly exchanged between the fortress and the allied 
camp across some parts of the city. The allies afterwards 
marched through Basle to the number of eighty thousand, and 
entered France. We understood that some religious comme- 
moration of this event was instituted, as an expression of the 
gratitude of the inhabitants to Providence for their preserva- 
tion. 

The first town in France is St. Louis, distant from Basle 
about a league, consisting chiefly of one long, wide street, and 
having a considerable air of poverty and misery, compared 
with places of equal size in the Protestant part of Switzerland. 
Here the diligence was detained about half an hour, and fresh 
passports were necessary for Paris. The luggage was also 
searched, for the first time since we had left Strasburg, but in 
a very lenient manner. 

We were now in the department of the Upper Rhine, the 
Roman Alsatia, anciently inhabited by the Triboci. After the 
overthrow of the Roman dominion, this province became a 
part of Germany. Like other border countries, Alsatia has 



264 ALSACE. 

experienced many changes ; — at one time belonging to the 
Franks, who under Ciovis took it from the Germans, in 496 ; 
then in 752, being united with the kingdom of Austrasia ; and 
subsequently forming a part of that large portion of France 
which fell to Lothaire, son of Louis le Debonnaire, and which 
was called the kingdom of Lotharingia, or Lorraine. In 896, 
this fertile country was united to the German empire, and was 
governed by dukes. When the line of these feudal lords be^ 
came extinct, Alsatia was divided among several sovereigns of 
the empire ; and by the peace of Miinster, in 1648, a large por- 
tion of it was ceeded to France. In 1697, by the peace of 
Ryswick, Strasburg, and the whole neighboring couniry on 
the left bank of the Rhine, were added to the French do- 
minions. 

At the time of the revolution of 1789, several sovereigns of 
the empire had still considerable possessions in Alsatia, which 
the first National Assembly declared to belong naturally to 
France, as lying west of the Rhine. The difficulty of adjust- 
ing the opposing claims, was one principal cause of the war 
which took place soon after between France and Germany. 
By the peace of Paris, in 1815, Landau, which is north of the 
department of the Lower Rhine r was again separated from 
France, and united to Germany. During the reign of Napo- 
leon, few parts of France were more attached to his govern- 
ment than the provinces of the Upper and Lower Rhine. 

Alsatia is considered as one of the most fertile countries in 
Europe, abounding in the fruits of the earth; and containing, 
many mines of different metals. The district through which* 
we passed was rich, but not picturesque : the cattle were nu- 
merous ; but the wealth of this part of Alsace is chiefly to be 
attributed to the manufactures to which the mines of copper, 
lead, and iron, have given rise, — to the woollen and cotton 
stuffs, — and to the coal-mines, and the forests. 

Two thirds of the population of the Upper and Lower Rhine 
departments are Roman Catholics, and have the character of 
being greatly attached to their ancient customs. The neigh- 
boring Swiss have been much employed to do the work of the 
hay and corn-fields, and to manage the vintage, in some parts 
of Alsace : this may have occasioned the notion which has 
been entertained that the Alsatians have so rich and fertile a 
country, that they are disposed to indolence and inaction. 

On the Swiss side of Mullhausen, the government officers 
again presented themselves at the door of the diligence ; and 
on inquiring the cause, we were told it was pour faire une autre 
visite. The luggage was again, it seemed, liable to be searched ; 
but, as before, very little trouble was given to us. The usual 
question that is asked in the French dominions, at the douane 
station is, avez vous quelque chose & declarer 7 and when the re- 



MUELLHAUSEN. 265 

ply in the negative is accompanied with freedom in giving up 
the keys* and facilitating the opening of the trunks and boxes, 
there is generally much civility, and little of rigorous inspec- 
tion : at least) this was our experience. 

At Mullhausen, all appeared life and bustle, the streets and 
markets being quite thronged with buyers and sellers of vari- 
ous kinds of commodities, including great quantities of fine 
grapes and other fruit. It was easy, from the general appear- 
ance of this place, to perceive that it was by far the most ma- 
nufacturing town, for its size, that we had seen since leaving 
England. It contains about twenty-one thousand inhabitants. 
Six or seven thousand are employed in the manufactories ; 
which, about ten years ago, amounted to nearly seventy ; — 
eleven being of cloth, seventeen of muslin, seventeen of printed 
calico, — besides several leather works, and some founderies. 
Here is manufactured the scarlet muslin, the dye of which is so 
superior ; and which is so much used in the neighboring coun- 
tries for window- curtains and bed furniture. The time of our 
stay at Miillhausen allowed but of a very cursory view : the 
appearance of the town, however, was evidently that of a place 
into which the life of commerce had infused itself. The streets 
are tolerably regular, ornamented with several public build- 
ings, among the finest of which is the Reformed Church. 

Amidst the involution of interests and of governments that 
have been known in Alsatia, Mullhausen has had its share. It 
once constituted a little republic, struggling to maintain cer- 
tain privileges which it had received, in the feudal times, from 
the German emperors, by uniting itself at different periods 
with other towns that were in a similar situation with itself, 
in Alsace, Suabia, arid Switzerland. In 1515, it formed a league 
with the Helvetic Confederacy, and by this means, w 7 ith a 
territory of not more than eight or ten miles in circumference, 
it long maintained its independence, against the encroach- 
ments both of the Empire, and of France ; and like the Swiss 
republics it was governed by a Great and a Little Council, — 
till the fortunes of war attached it to the French dominions. 

Between Mullhausen and Bcfort, on the western border of 
Alsace, and seventeen leages from Basle, we had once more to 
cross a branch of the Jura mountains, which here take the 
name of the Vosges. Near their base is Bcfort, or Bel-fort, so 
called from an old castle, crowning an elevated position, the 
origin probably of the vast fortifications that surmount the 
town, which is regarded as the strong-hold of France on this 
side. 

After a dinner at the hotel at Bcfort, consisting of the usual 
varieties of French cookery, we proceeded on the way to Chau- 
mont, having as companions a Bernese young lady who was go- 
ing to pay a visit near Vesoul, and a young German, on his way 
vol. vi. 23 



266 LANGRES. CHAUMONT. 

to London. These, and a merchant of Miillhausen, who had 
gone no further than that place from Basle, and an old French* 
woman who joined us at Befort without a bonnet, and travelled 
all the way to Paris, were the only passengers in the interior, 
excepting ourselves, during the whole distance. In another 
part of the roomy diligence were two or three military French- 
men, fiercely whiskered, and almost ferocious in their ap- 
pearance. 

In the afternoon of the second day, we arrived at Langres, 
situated on a very lofty hill, which we were long in ascending. 
It is considered to be the highest town in France : the pro- 
spect from the tower of the principal church is said to be of 
immense extent, and in a clear sky Most Blanc may be seen 
in the south-western horizon. In the evening we reached 
Chaumont, capital of the Upper Marne, — a town of somewhat 
imposing aspect, appearing, long before we arrived at it, stand- 
ing out, on an elevated site, in that peculiar relief which a 
very clear atmosphere gives to objects. 

We had purposed to break the journey to Paris by staying 
here for the night ; but a report had been spread along the 
road that the cholera had made its appearance in the town. 
On inquiry at Chaumont, it proved that five or six persons 
had fallen victims to a violent bowel complaint, though it was 
not pronounced to be cholera ; and that a young man had died 
at the very hotel at which it was our intention to stay. This 
was sufficient to determine our party to continue the journey 
during the second night, and we proceeded to Troyes, and af- 
terwards through Nogent sur Seine, Provins, and Nangis, to 
Paris. 

The country, after crossing the Vosges, consisted chiefly of 
a series of vast plains, gently undulated, and having almost 
everywhere a boundless horizon. To judge by what appeared 
in the daytime, there was seldom a great deal of wood, very 
few chateaux, and by no means that cheerful intermixture of 
villages in the landscape, which always gives to it so great a 
charm ; and almost all the towns had an appearance of dis- 
comfort and misery. During this long and unbroken journey 
of about a hundred and ten leagues, occupying three days and 
three nights, the greatest annoyance arose from the miserable 
places at which we frequently stopped during the night ; gene- 
rally, however, there was some refreshment to be obtained. 
The interior of the diligence itself was sufficiently roomy and 
comfortable to prevent the confinement from being so great a 
penance as it sometimes is in our smaller coaches ; and we had 
taken the precaution, at Basle, to bespeak the four corners, by- 
means of which rest and sleep were much facilitated. As it 
is common in France, as elsewhere on the conlinent, for each 



ROAD TO PARIS. 267 

place to be numbered, there was no difficulty in obtaining this 
accommodation. 

The inns were, in general, dirty and miserable, even at the 
large towns, and very different in their aspect from those at 
which coaches generally stop to dine in England, where tra- 
velling is brought to so much greater perfection than in France. 
The conductor had nothing either of the bluster or the servility 
which is frequently characteristic of our stage-coachmen. 
There was something of the sober importance of office about 
him : he was always very civil ; and invariably took his meals 
at the same table with the company. 

Our line of road was the locality of some of the last scenes 
in that great European drama which issued in the overthrow 
of the military sovereignty of Bonaparte. A large army of 
the Allies crossed the Rhine, at Basle, in December 1813 ; and 
by the middle of January 1814, part of them had occupied 
Langres ; while a detachment of the forces of Bonaparte was 
at Chaumont, a distance of not more than twenty-five miles. 
The Allied Sovereigns themselves had fixed their head-quar- 
ters at Chatillon, about forty miles west of Langres, where they 
held a Congress, which was attended by Lord Castlereagh, as 
the representative of Great Britain. 

Napoleon had appointed the Empress Maria Louisa regent, 
and had left Paris to encounter the potentates and powers 
whose thrones he had before frequently made to tremble, but 
who were now assembled together to fight the battle of Eu- 
rope, on the plains of France itself. The great conqueror was 
defeated in person, at La Rotherie, by the combined forces of 
Russia and Austria, under the command of Blucher, his dead- 
ly enemy. He then retreated to Troyes, and subsequently to 
Nogent sur Seine. The Allies entered Troyes on the 7th of 
February, and Prince Schwartzenburg there established his 
head -quarters. 

These operations were witnessed by the French people with 
perfect apathy ; for as the combined armies neither laid waste 
their country, nor dictated to them their future course as to a 
sovereign, they were content to regard the quarrel in its true 
light, as an affair between the Allies and Bonaparte. He was 
still treated with, by the Congress, as Emperor of France, 
through his representative Caulincourt, although advantages 
had been gained in various quarters over his troops. Indeed 
it did not, even now, appear too late for him to make terms 
with the Allies, especially in consequence of his connection 
with the house of Austria, on which he was thought to calcu- 
late much. 

The Congress, however, were soon convinced, from his va- 
cillating behaviour, that no peace which was to be depended 
on, could be made with him ; and on the 18th of March, the 



268 EVENTS OF 1814. 

negotiations at Chatillon were finally broken off. In the 
meantime, the storm was gathering all round, that was shortly 
to burst in fury on the head of this great military chief, who 
had so long agitated Europe. Lord Wellington was advancing 
from the Pyrenees ; Bourdeaux, the fourth city in France, de- 
clared for the Bourbons, and deputies were sent from it to 
Louis XVilL; while the allied armies of the east were bear- 
ing, from various points, on Paris, to the number of 200,000 
men. At length, they entered the French capital, with the 
acclamations of the people ; and on the 2d of April, the sen- 
ate solemnly deposed Napoleon, and absolved all his subjects 
from their allegiance to him. A liberal constitution was now 
drawn up by the provisional government, for the acceptance 
of the French nation, and of Louis XVIII. 

Bonaparte now offered to abdicate in favor of his son ; but 
as this proposal was not made till after he had been deposed 
by the sentence of the provisional government, it was not en- 
tertained. He now chose formally to renounce the thrones of 
France and Italy, stating that as the allied powers had pro- 
claimed him to be the only obstacle to the peace of Europe, 
he wished to show that there was ' no sacrifice, not even that 
of life,' to which he would not readily submit for the welfare 
of France ! But this display of generosity did but make a 
merit of necessity, and came too late to touch the hearts of 
the French people, many of whom violently insulted the for- 
mer idol of their vanity, as he was passing through the south 
of France to proceed to Elba. The sovereignty of this small 
island, with a revenue of two millions of francs,* was now as* 
signed to him who had aspired to a wider empire than that of 
Charlemagne. 

It appears to have been more astonishing to many, at the 
time, than it will appear to posterity, that Bonaparte should 
find the means of returning from Elba, once more to give law 
to France from the palace of the Capetians ; — but the star of 
his destinies had waned, and this momentary gleam only be- 
tokened the immediate extinction of its glory, — for he was 
now but the monarch of a ' hundred days ;' and the names of 
Waterloo and St. Helena, will be vocal to every future age, in 
bearing witness, in the most impressive tones, to the madness 
of ambition, and the vanity of human greatness. 

* £ 80,000 sterling, 



OUTLINE OF FRENCH HISTORY. 



LETTER XX. 

Sketch of French History. Feudal Divisions. Franks. The Merovin- 
gian Dynasty. Clovis. Maires du Palais, and Rois Faineans. Car- 
lovingian Dynasty. Pepin. Charlemagne. Charles the Bald. Charles 
le Gros. Capetian Dynasty. Hugh Capet. Feudal System. Philip 
II. Louis IX. or St. Louis. Philip III. Philip IV. Valois Branch 
of the House of Capet. Charles IV. Philip VI. Wars with England. 
Charles VI. Charles VII. Joan d'Arc. Louis XI. Charles VIII. 
Orleans Branch of Capet. Louis XII. Second House of Valois Ca- 
pet. Francis I. Francis II. Religious Wars. Persecution of Pro- 
testants. Charles IX. Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day. Bour- 
bon Line. Henry IV. Louis XIII. Richelieu. Louis XIV. Maza- 
rin. Louis XV. Louis XVI. 

France, like other kingdoms that have been formed from the 
union of a number of separate sovereignties, has little real 
unity in its history for many centuries. The feudal divisions 
which broke into fragments the territory that lies between the 
Pyrenees and the Rhine, the Alps, and the Ocean, frequently 
render it difficult to find a common centre in which the events 
that were spread over this wide extent of country may be re- 
garded as converging ; and the different Duchks and Comtes, 
though more or less attached by feudal ties to a nominally su- 
perior power, were in strictness so many distinct states, each 
capable of a history of its own, till the reconstruction of the 
political edifice was gradually accomplished by means of the 
successful despotism, and the military splendor of several of 
the Capetian Kings. 

The French historians inform us that, in the year 420, the 
Franks, a people who styled themselves by this name to show 
their love of liberty and their boast of independence, having 
shaken off the Roman yoke, made an irruption from the banks 
of the Main, the Rhine, and the Weser, into Gaul, under Pha- 
ramond, who had been proclaimed their monarch by being 
carried aloft on a buckler around the camp. This invasion 
did not succeed ; as the Gauls, assisted by the Romans to 
whom they were tributaries, were too strong for the Franks. 
The latter, however, finally subdued the Gauls, in 451, after 
having defeated Attila, king of the Huns, at the battle of Cha- 
lons. Mcrovce is said to have subsequently established the 
scat of his new kingdom on the site now occupied by Paris. 

Whatever doubts may attach to the history of Pharamond, 

and to the identity of that Meroveus who is supposed to have 

given his name to the first race of the Prankish kings, — from 

the time of Clovis the Great, the annals of few countries are 

23* 



270 OUTLINE OF FUENCH HISTORY. 

a 

better authenticated than those of France. Clovis appears, in 
481, as the monarch of the Salian Franks, a people inhabiting 
a district of Belgic Gaul, between the Scheldt and the Rhine. 
Clovis gradually made himself master of the greater part of 
the whole country, and by defeating the Roman general Sya- 
grius, at Soissons, in 486, he put an end to the imperial domin- 
ion, which had endeavored to sustain itself in those bloody 
wars that took place between the Franks and the Romans, un- 
der the government of five or six of the emperors. 

Clovis also subdued the inhabitants of Armorica, or Bret- 
agne ; the Alemanni of the Rhine ; and the Visigoths, who 
had settled in Aquitania, the country between the Pyrenees 
and the Garonne. His life was stained by cruelty and treach- 
ery ; and he contrived to get rid of the greater part of the 
princes of his family, by causing some to be massacred, and 
by immolating others with his own hands. This monarch, 
who was born a Pagan, adopted Christianity, in fulfilment of 
a vow which he had made to worship the God of Clotilda, his 
Christian wife, if victory were granted him, over the Aleman- 
ni : and at his baptism by St. Remi at Rheims, with three 
thousand of his soldiers, in 496, he was anointed with the 
miraculous oil, said to have been sent down from heaven by 
means of a dove.* 

The four sons of Clovis divided Gaul into the kingdom of 
Austrasia, in the east ; and in the west, into the kingdoms of 
Paris, Orleans, and Soissons, — divisions of Neustria. Childe- 
bert, who obtained that of Paris, is considered as the successor 
of his father. New conquests were now added to the Frank- 
ish dominion ; but civil war, family feuds, and assassinations, 
the invasions of the Saracens from Spain, and the feebleness 
of the sovereigns, desolated the empire ; and the semblance of 
unity was only kept up by the governors of the royal palace, 
officers who were subsequently termed Maires clu Palais, and 
who, after reigning over kings, and holding their pretensions 
to the crown in abeyance at their pleasure, at length finally 
dispossessed the Merovingian dynasty of the government. 

These majores clomus, or officers of the household, first be- 
came the prime ministers of the sovereign ; and Clotaire II. 
is believed to have rendered their office permanent for life, 
and to have thus laid the foundation for the ruin of his House. 
The Mayors became at length independent of the crown in the 

* The ampulla, or vessel for holding the oil for anointing the French 
kings at their coronation, was kept at Rheims. It was stolen during the 
revolution of 1789; and a soldier, in contempt of the ' miraculous and in- 
exhaustible oil,' is said to have used it for his boots, or shoes. By those 
who were supposed to know best, the oil was pronounced to be not whol- 
ly lost; and some drops of it were professedly used in anointing Charles 
X. at his coronation, in 1825 ! 



MAIRES DU PALAIS. 271 

kingdoms of Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy ; and thus the 
division of the Frankish monarchy was prolonged, till Pepin 
d'Heristel rendered the mayoral power hereditary in his fami- 
ly, and, during four reigns, governed the kings and their sub- 
jects, as a monarch, though without a crown. His son Charles 
Martel, and his grandson Pepin, continued to rule in the same 
manner, during the lives of the next four princes, under the 
cautious title of 'Duke of France/ The last eight kings of 
the Merovingian line are termed by the French historians Les 
Rois Faineans, or the sluggard Kings, in consequence of their 
thus leaving everything, for twenty years, to the government 
of the mayors or dukes. 

On the death of Childeric III., Pepin, surnamed Le Bref, 
from the shortness of his stature, son of Charles Martel, at 
length added the title of king to the regal authority which the 
mayors already possessed, and, in 751, founded the Carlo- 
vingian dynasty, which derived its name from Pepin's son 
and successor, Charles I., generally called Charlemagne, or 
Charles the Great. Under this prince, the Frankish empire 
attained its meridian glory ; appearing like a blaze of light in 
the midst of the two long periods of darkness and barbarism 
that preceded and followed it. It cast the first and the last 
shadow of organised power on the disjointed wrecks of the 
western Roman empire ; and stood forth in the interval be- 
tween the breaking up of the turbulent democracies of the 
northern nations, and the dominion of the feudal system. 

The empire of Charlemagne extended from the Ebro to the 
Elbe and the Danube ; and from the Mediterranean and the 
Adriatic, to the Northern Sea ; comprising France ; Germany ; 
part of Spain, of Hungary, and of Bohemia ; some provinces 
of Dalmatia; and Italy as far as the river Garigliano in Na- 
ples. This great monarch's fame was known in Africa, and 
Asia ; and the caliphs of Bagdad and the sovereigns of the 
Eastern Empire, treated him with respect, and sought his 
friendship. But his vast monarchy fell to pieces in the hands 
of his son, Louis le Debonnaire, among whose sons it was sub- 
sequently divided ; and by the treaty of Verdun, in 843, the 
crowns of France, Germany, and Italy, were formally sepa- 
rated from each other : Charles the Bald, the youngest son 
of Louis, became the first monarch of the new kingdom of 
France. 

Under Charles the Bald, the monarchical authority began 
to decline. The Dukes and Counts now became more pow- 
erful. The ravages of the Normans furnished the feudal ba- 
rons with a pretext for erecting strong castles, which became 
the strongholds of oppression ; the ii r is were rendered heredi- 
tary; and th<; royal power was reduced to a mere feudal su- 
premacy. In Charles le Gros, the separated crowns of France, 



272 OUTLINE OF FEENCH HISTOEY. 

Germany, and Italy, were reunited ; and for four years the 
new Western Empire reappeared. Charles died in 888, and 
the phantom of the huge monarchy of Charlemagne vanished 
with him. 

The annals of the remaining century, during which the 
second dynasty continued on the throne, are among the least 
interesting in the French history ; and the records of this pe- 
riod are scanty, and occasionally obscure. It appears, how- 
ever, that the royal dignily was but little respected by the feu- 
dal nobility ; who at length so divided the domains of the 
crown among themselves, that but a small portion of territory 
was left to the Cariovingians. 

In 987, Hugh Capet became the founder of the third, or 
Capetian line of princes, by being elected king, in an assem- 
bly of the feudal lords, of whose increased power this change of 
dynasty was the natural result, as they bestowed the crown on 
one of the most powerful of their own body. The feudal sys- 
tem attained its growth in France at an early period, — chiefly 
in consequence of the imbecility of the latter Cariovingians; 
and because the dangers to which the country was exposed 
from without, gave importance to the barons. Hence, for 
three centuries, these great feudatories rendered themselves so 
independent of the monarchy, that the history of France, dur- 
ing that period, is. wanting in a real and common centre of 
unity. 

Besides a numerous minor nobility, there were about forty 
powerful vassals, who had received their part of conquered 
lands ; which had become hereditary in such a way that the 
king himself possessed only the name and semblance of supe- 
riority. Hence, in establishing its dignity, the crown had to 
regain the royal prerogatives, and to limit the power of the 
vassals : which theirs* line of the Capetians finally effected 
by uniting with some of these feudatories against the rest. 
The crusades were incidentally favorable to the scheme of 
humbling the nobles, by preparing the way for the greater 
commercial intercourse of nations, by creating a new power 
in the cities, and by giving a civil existence to the people. 

The situation of the crown may be conjectured, when we 
remember that in the middle of the twelfth century, one count 
possessed sixteen of the present departments of France ; 
another seven ; and a third six ; while Henry II. of England 
held twenty-eight departments ; and all the South of France 
belonged to a number of feudal nobles. Philip II. was the 
first who obtained a decided ascendancy over these powerful 
barons, and brought them to a state of allegiance which none 
of his predecessors in the dynasty had been able to command. 
Hence when the nobles, roused to a determination to resist the 
increasing growth of the royal authority, had combined for 



VALOIS CAPETIANS. 273 

this purpose during the minority of Louis IX., they found that 
the queen dowager, Blanche, who was regent for her son, was 
powerful enough to set them at defiance, and to overpower 
them. 

The reduction of laws to writing, and the general regenera- 
tion of justice, by Louis ; the introduction of letters of nobility 
by Philip III. ; and especially the restoration of the delegates 
of the people, by his son Philip IV., tended additionally to di- 
minish the power of the feudal lords. The Franks were ori- 
ginally accustomed to hold their public assemblies, annually, 
in the open air ; and all questions relating to public affairs in 
general, were decided by the majority. The king and court, 
the nobles, the bishops, and the people, were all entitled to be 
present. The people had, in the course of years, lost the 
privilege of attending ; but, under Charlemagne, they were 
again imperfectly represented. The first princes of the Ca- 
petian line discontinued this usage ; but Philip IV. revived the 
ancient practice, by summoning to the assemblies, delegates 
from the communes, who have since been called the tiers-etat. 
The same monarch, by the assistance of the nobles, set at de- 
fiance Pope Boniface VIII., who maintained a contest with 
him for power, and claimed universal dominion for the triple 
crown. Philip also' placed the crown lands under the jurisdic- 
tion of the Parliament of Paris ; but notwithstanding the pro- 
gress that was going on towards modern civilization, the 
barbarism that still remained, manifested itself in the in- 
human treatment of the Templars ; whose wealth, and sup- 
posed ambitious projects, rendered them equally the victims of 
the church, and of the king ; and numbers of them were cru- 
elly tortured and burned alive. 

Philip VI. cousin to his predecessor Charles IV., became the 
first monarch of the Valois branch of the House of Capet, in 
1328 : — and now began those wars with England which lasted 
for upwards of a century. During this period the social sys- 
tem in France came into a state of disorganization ; the sol- 
diers were transformed into a predatory banditti ; the 
peasantry were driven to desperation by their miseries ; and 
the nobles were enflamed with the spirit of faction and revolt. 
This turbulent era was stained with the darkest treacheries, 
with private assassinations, and with wholesale massacres ; 
and pestilence and famine swelled the frightful train of woes, 
which followed in the track of civil discord and foreign inva- 
sion. 

The long-continued scourge of war which desolated France 
from 1336, was occasioned by the claim of Edward III. to the 
French crown, as nephew, on his mother's side, to Charles IV. 
This claim was resisted on the plea of the usage, afterwards 
called the Salic law ; which was interpreted as not only ex- 



274 FRENCH HISTORY. ENGLISH POWER. 

eluding from the throne the female branches of the royal 
family, but also all the males having no claim on the father's 
side. In 1420, Henry V. of England invaded France, which 
was still groaning under the effects of a bloody civil war be- 
tween the Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy. Henry succeed- 
ed in causing Charles VI., who had sunk into a state of imbe- 
cility, to consent to transfer the succession from the dauphin 
to himself; and he married the king's daughter Catharine. 
Charles survived Henry, whose infant son Henry VI. was, on 
the death of Charles, solemnly proclaimed King of France. 
The dauphin likewise procured himself to be crownejl, by the 
name of Charles VII., at Poictiers, as Rheims, the ancient co- 
ronation-place of the French monarchs, with half the kingdom, 
was in possession of the English. It was at this period that 
Joan d'Arc, a peasant girl who professed to have a divine com- 
mission to save France from the enemy, was the means of in- 
spiring the French with new ardor in the cause of the dau- 
phin ;* and, placing herself at the head of the army, she 
compelled the English to raise the siege of Orleans, and 
struck a blow against their power which led to its final de- 
struction in France : for by 1450, England had been deprived 
of all her conquests in the French territory, with the exception 
of Calais and Guienne. 

Charles VII. was the first French monarch who regularly 
maintained a standing army : and from this period it was the 
policy of the kings to direct the warlike spirit of the people to 
foreign conquest. The increasing extent of the crown lands 
enabled their possessor to impose taxes without the consent of 
the States. Everything in France now tended to the concen- 
tration of the monarchy, and the policy of the government of 
Louis XL, became an example of tyranny and deceit,* and 
the element of a Machiavelian school, in which other mon- 
archs learned their lessons. It was in this reign that the impla- 
cable hatred arose between the House of Capet and that of Haps- 
burg, which lasted for centuries, and which so long desolated 
the Low Countries. It originated from Louis's seizing on Bur- 
gundy as a fief, while his son Charles stood betrothed to Mary, 
heiress of the deceased Duke Charles the Bold : this rapacity 
broke off the negociation, and Mary was espoused to Maximi- 
lian Archduke of Austria. Charles VIII., in whom ended the 
direct line of the Valois branch of the Capetians, had a pas- 
sion for conquest ; in which however he was not very success- 
ful ; and from about this period may be dated the growth of 
that military policy and ambition, which kept France at war 

* This history is exquisitely wrought up in Schiller's tragedy ( Die Jung- 
frau von Orleans.' 

* His favorite maxim was dissimuler Jest regner. 



FRENCH HISTORY. 275 

with the neighboring nations, and rendered the passion for the 
glory of arms a national sentiment. 

Louis XII. constituted in himself the third, or Orleans 
branch of the House of Capet ; and his reign, which began in 
1498, is described by the French historians as one of the hap- 
piest France ever knew. His domestic policy was mild, and 
he loved his subjects ; but the mania of conquest had taken 
possession of the people, and Louis engaged in disadvant- 
ageous wars. 

Francis I., son of Louis, commenced the second House of 
the Valois Capetians, in 1515, and finished what was neces- 
sary to render the regal power absolute : war still raged, and 
religious persecution opposed the progress of the Reformation. 
The court became more refined ; and this was the epoch of the 
French politesse : — but the spirit of intrigue and corruption 
gained ground with the change of manners. The people were 
arbitrarily laden with taxes, and the way was preparing for 
that accumulation of national debt, which was destined ul- 
timately to prove so destructive to the throne. In the reign 
of Francis II., the religious wars broke out, which subse- 
quently inundated France with blood ; and the barbarous per- 
secutions of the Protestants began, which stamped with infamy 
this and several of the following reigns. On St. Bartholo- 
mew's-day, in 1572, took place that atrocious massacre of the 
Protestants, under the direction of Charles IX., and his more 
fiendish mother Catharine de Medicis, which blots the page of 
history with one of the most appalling examples that have 
ever existed of the dreadful consequences which ensue from 
the perversion and corruption of religion. 

Henry IV., the first of the Bourbons, ascended the throne of 
the Capets in 1589. He put an end to the religious wars 
which had so long desolated France, and placed the Protest- 
ants under the protection of the edict of Nantes ; though he 
himself renounced Protestantism for Romanism. He ruled as 
an absolute monarch, seeking to repress every impulse that 
might arise towards freedom ; and the arbitrary system of 
subsequent reigns found support in his example : yet he was 
a very popular king, and his memory is accounted glorious by 
the French, as he improved the discipline of the army, reliev- 
ed the finances, and rendered France great and formidable in 
the eyes of Europe. In the reign of his son Louis XIII., Car- 
dinal Richelieu, the prime minister, consolidated that domestic 
despotism, which while it grasped at absolute power, was des- 
tined to pull down the monarchy itself. 

Cardinal Mazarin followed in Richelieu's 6teps, under Louis 
XIV., who began his reign in 1643, and became the most pow- 
erful and splendid prince in Europe, and the arbiter of its 
politics; but whose luxury and ambition plunged France into 



276 CAUSES OF 

a yet deeper gulf of demoralization, ultimately enfeebled her 
energies, inflicted on her an enormous debt, and paved the 
way for her ruin. Under Louis XV., the interests of the king- 
dom, and the welfare of the people, became the sport of the 
vilest intrigues ; despotism, no longer able to make itself res- 
pectable, still clung fondly to its lordly dreams ; and the na- 
tional debt and the taxation were increased. As in the case of 
the Roman empire, in its wane, the rapid filling up of the 
measure of iniquity was too conspicuous not to be discerned 
by all reflecting minds, as an alarming omen for the future ; 
and the deep and awful shadows of stupendous events were 
already cast before them. The unfortunate Louis XVL came 
to the crown in 1774, and he was not fitted to avert the calam- 
ities that had long been preparing for unhappy France, if 
indeed they were capable of being averted in the ordinary 
course of human things. 



LETTER XXI. 

Causes of the Revolution of 1789— [nadaptation of the political 
System—The Press— The. Reformation — Revival of Classical Litera- 
ls ture— Louis XIII.— Louis XIV.— Louis XV. — Finances— Romish Re- 
ligion — Examples of Revolutions— Philosophers — Taxation — Corrup- 
tion of Manners— Character of Louis XVI. — The Queen's Court— Si- 
tuation of the Parliaments and the Sovereign — Assembly of the Notables 
— Riot in St. Antoine— The States General — Storming of the Bastille- 
Riot at Versailles — The Federation—Riot in the Champ de Mars— Con- 
stituent Assembly— 20th June— 10th of August, 1792— Committee of 
Safety — Massacre of Prisoners — National Convention — Mountain 
Party— Reign of Terror — The Directory— The Consulate — The Empire 
—Fall of Bonaparte. 

If one cause of the French Revolution is to be considered as 
more elementary than others, it was undoubtedly the imperfec- 
tion of the political system and its inadaptation to the age. The 
ancient spirit of government, the offspring of a barbarous period, 
might harmonise sufficiently with the condition of the people 
during the Merovingian and Carlovingian dynasties, and be 
able to sustain itself through the first branches of the House of 
Capet, while brutish ignorance prevailed : — but by the time 
when the Bourbons ascended the throne of France, in 1589, a 
new era had already commenced in Europe. A full century had 
elapsed, since the 1 associates or workmen of Faust and Schof- 
fer, had set up the first printing-press at Paris, and being 
taken for conjurers, were fined hy the Parliament. The press 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1789. 277 

had given wings to knowledge ; the Reformation had commu- 
nicated an impulse to thought, before unfelt, or crushed in its 
birth ; and the human soul had awoke from the slumber of 
the dark ages, and entered on a new career, for good, or for 
evil. 

The revival of classical literature, and the translation of 
the writings of antiquity into modern tongues, brought into 
light the spirit of freedom, often mingled with a turbulent au- 
dacity, which breathed in the ancient republican forms of, gov- 
ernment; and the atmosphere of learning, however limited it 
might be at first, became almost necessarily charged, more or 
less, with the contagion of liberty. 

The Reformation produced no effect in dissolving the tie 
which for more than a thousand years, had bound up religion 
with secular power ; for where it failed, it left the state, as be- 
fore, under the dominion of the church ; and where it sup- 
planted Romanism, it rendered the church the vassal of the 
state : — hence as the Reformation brought into exercise a spirit 
of inquiry respecting religion, and religion remained at least 
as much as ever consolidated with human authority, — the 
topic of government came the more readily within the sphere 
of examination ; and the conflicts of the church taught men to 
study politics. Public opinion was created, a power before 
unknown, and which was destined, in its growth, to dominate 
supreme over the pride of aristocracy and the thrones of 
princes ; being heard louder than any other voice, like 
heaven's thunder, mighty either to purify or to destroy. 

The popular mind tended to expansion ; but governments 
either diametrically resisted the new impulse or did not keep 
pace with it in such a manner as to lead, rather than to be 
compelled to follow it. Like a stranded vessel, which the tide 
has left behind, and which instead of floating, may be dashed 
to pieces with the returning wave, — so the unwieldly monar- 
chies that were fraught with the ancient spirit of despotism, 
only required a coincidence of favorable circumstances to oc- 
casion their dissolution. 

Such a concurrence took place in France, in the crisis of 
1789. A hundred and fifty years before, Richelieu's talents 
had for a moment given a triumph to kingly power, in the 
person of Louis XIII. His successor Louis XIV. had a reign 
of the almost unparalleled duration of seventy-two years ; 
during the greater part of which time, the genius of liberty 
was extinguished beneath the overpowering pressure of a 
splendid despotism. Under this monarch, whom France boasts 
of as her Augustus, the arts flourished, polite letters were 
cultivated, and chefs- d'ceuvre of skill and taste were produced, 
which remain as superb memorials of the reign to succeeding 
ages :— but encouragement to talent was purchased by the 

vol. vi. 24 



278 CAUSES OF 

most abject flattery ; and the triumphal arches, the palaces 
and gardens, the hospitals and the churches of the capital, and 
the vast and sumptuous pile of Versailles, were trophies 
equally to the extravagant luxury of the monarch, aud to the 
unlimited command which he exercised over the pecuniary 
resources of the nation. Even the improvements that were 
made in the administration of the government, were only ren- 
dered subservient to the aggrandizement of the regal power. 

The halo of glory which the Grand Monarque had thrown 
around him, was so dazzling to his subjects, that he was able 
undisguisedly to avow his absolutism, and habitually to de- 
clare, * Utlat c'est moi.' But the tyranny, rapacity, and licen- 
tiousness of Louis XV., had little or nothing to act as a foil to 
it : the pressure which had kept down tne popular mind was 
now, in a great measure, taken off; and new ideas Mere gain- 
ing a rapid march over the unchanging spirit, and the waning 
power of royalty. The attempt to introduce new abuses, the 
embarrassment of the finances, the extreme dissoluteness 
of the court, and the scandalous corruption of the functiona- 
ries of the government, all united to hasten the awful crisis. 

It will be found in the history of human nature, tbat pecu- 
niary considerations often produce the most astounding and 
unlooked-for effects in the character of individuals. The same 
causes, when sufficiently extensive, cannot fail to w 7 ork on the 
destiny of nations. In France, the exhaustion of the treasury 
was the turning point of the Revolution. The state of the pub- 
lic finances brought into action the other elements of change ; 
causing the whole to ferment, and ultimately to explode. The 
materials of mischief were not only to be found in the palace, 
in the administration, and in the treasury ;— they existed in 
every class of society. The abandoned and open profligacy 
of the court flowed downward through all ranks, and, like a 
loud and filthy torrent, inundated and polluted the whole 
nation. 

Nor had the Catholic religion that moral energy which was 
necessary to overawe the minds of men, and to restrain them 
from an atheistic career of crime : never perhaps, since the 
epoch of the Reformation, had the pardons and indulgences of 
ihe church been in greater demand : for many of her most 
superstitious devotees were not distinguished, in their practice, 
from the most avowed and reckless voluptuaries. Even the 
higher orders of the clergy, who were the most conspicuous, 
on account of their station, were daily becoming more and 
more assimilated to the laity, in the flagrancy of their immo- 
rality. 

The English Revolutions, and especially that of 1648, fur- 
nished topics of meditation to some who desired change ; and 
the Revolution in America had but recently attracted th^ at- 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1789. 279 

tention of mankind. These signal instances of innovation were 
not merely regarded as accidental derangements in the ma- 
chinery of the political world : — they were in the minds of 
many connected with theory. Philosophy was not a poetic 
dream ; nor were its ideas confined to mere speculation. Such 
writers as Helvetius, Montesquieu, Diderot, D'Alembert, Vol- 
taire, and Rousseau, were read and studied ; but these men 
were not more the creators of a certain altered state of the 
public mind, than its creatures: they were as much its organs 
as its authors. Men of every rank and profession wished for 
change, and all France sighed for a new order of things. 

Under such circumstances, did Louis XVI. ascend the 
throne of his ancestors, fifteen years before the great crisis, 
which ultimately led to his untimely end. During this period, 
all the discordant materials which produced the final event 
were continually coming into closer and closer contact. The 
seeds of infidelity and atheism had been deeply sown, espe- 
cially among the higher classes ; a feverish and restless im- 
patience for new and untried schemes took possession of men's 
minds ; the great were jealous of each other's influence ; the 
inferior nobles envied those above them, and were indignant 
at the unbounded revelry and profligacy in which the latter 
were able to indulge ; and many of the higher nobility felt 
themselves keenly wounded in reflecting on the monopoly of 
their privileges by the crown, which had long professed to be 
only another name for 'the State.' The different orders of 
men in the church, and in the law, contributed their part, also, 
to augment the mass of conflicting elements ; manifesting a 
spirit of mutual hostility, and eagerly desiring any change 
whatever that might conduce to their interests. 

Among the people in general, the exciting causes were such 
as made a more immediate appeal to their wants and distresses. 
They longed to be delivered from taxes and oppressions ; and, 
no more beguiled by the splendor of spectacles, and the mag- 
nificence of the great, they were incensed at beholding the lux- 
ury and extravagance that reigned in the palace and the 
chateau, while in their own wretched hovels there was nothing 
but famine and misery. The strange admixture of Romish 
superstition with gross corruption of manners, both in church 
and state, brought religion into contempt, and taught many to 
regard it as a mere ceremony, and useful only as a political 
engine. Nor were there wanting numbers of desperadoes, who 
amidst the general degeneracy, having nothing to lose, were 
anxiously looking for some grand political convulsion, in order 
that they might have the opportunity of profiting by the uni- 
versal confusion, and of throwing the reins on the neck of 
every evil passion. 

Louis himself was naturally humane ; and his intentions 



280 CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION OF 1789. 

were generous. His honesty, and benevolence, and mildness , 
merited a better fate than he was destined to suffer : but he 
had neither the intellectual, nor the moral energies which the 
crisis demanded. Though his mind was filled with lofty ideas 
of kingly power, — in the administration he was never more 
than an instrument : he was not adapted to be its presiding 
genius. In quiet times, and among a people in different cir- 
cumstances, he might have acted his part on the stage of roy- 
alty without blame, and even with a share of popularity : but 
he was not the spirit that could guide the storm, nor ward off 
from the throne of his ancestors the revolution which they had 
left him, as a fatal inheritance ; and with the ruin of that 
throne he fell. 

In the commencement of his reign, the call for the reform 
of ^abuses sounded like thunder around the palace, ami some 
beneficial changes were granted ; but Louis was the tool of 
the court, and the court gave but little of that reform, of which 
much was demanded. The Queen and her coterie were ex- 
travagant and unpopular ; her influence over the King was 
made subservient to the ambition of the great ; and she and 
her party, in the midst of the luxury and dissipation of fetes, 
made and unmade the ministers of the crown. The most an- 
tagonist principles were at work : the court was slumbering on 
the brink of a volcano, dreaming of the grandeur and the ab- 
solutism of former reigns ; the thoughts of the people were all 
tending to innovation ; and they were not without an abettor. 
In the history of France it will be found that some prince of 
the reigning dynasty has frequently placed himself in the 
foreground of the popular interests. At the beginning of the 
Revolution, the Duke of Orleans became patron of the low 
party. 

A considerable portion of the clergy, and the nobility, had 
enrolled themselves under the banner of philosophy ; and the 
new ideas which during the reign of Louis XIV. had found a 
safety-valve in epigrams, and jeux d' esprit, and had success- 
fully struggled for a more developed existence from the press,* 
under Louis XV., now became fixed principles of thought, and 
topics of animated and earnest conversation. 

The elements of a more organised opposition to the existing 
state of things, and a rallying point for reformers which gave 
dignity to their cause, were to be found in their parliaments. 
These courts of judicature, which had preserved the ancient 
function of registering the royal edicts before they became 
law, were consequently the natural moderators of the regal 
power, and sensible of the want of a firm basis for a privilege 
in itself so important, and yet of so little avail against an ar- 

* Particularly in the case of the Dictionnaire Encyclopedique* 



ASSEMBLY OF THE NOTABLES. 281 

bitrary sovereign, they courted the popular favor for their sup- 
port. 

Such was the condition of France during the years that pre- 
ceded the Revolution. At length, in the ruined state of the 
finances, a royal edict was issued for a new loan of between 
three and four millions sterling. The Parliament of Paris re- 
monstrated, and the King discovered his resentment at their 
boldness. It became necessary to have some public body to 
appeal to, more compliant than the parliamen;, and, on the 
13th of January 1787, Calonne, the minister, convoked the 
Assembly of Notables, or principal persons, from all parts of 
the country, selected by the King himself. This body had last 
met in 1626, under Louis XIII., when it was called together to 
serve the purposes of Richelieu. 

The Notables met on the 22d of February, and Calonne 
proposed to them a plan of taxation which was to include the 
nobles, the clergy, and the magistrates, who had hitherto been 
exempt. The privileged orders determined to let France sink 
with the millstone of the debt about her neck, rather than 
make any attempt to restore public confidence, by bearing 
their proportionate share in the burdens of the state : Calonne 
resigned, and Lomenie de Brienne entered on office, with the 
alarming fact before him, reported by the Notables, that there 
was an annual deficiency in the revenue of nearly six millions 
sterling, and a debt of fifty millions, up to 1786. The Nota- 
bles were dissolved, and the convocation of the States-Gene- 
ral was now talked of. The report of the plan for assembling 
this body, which had previously been insisted on by the par- 
liament, ran like an electric shock through all orders of the 
community, and excited a still higher flush of expectation 
among the people, than that which followed the convoking of 
the Notables. 

The English republican Henry Neville, in his Plato Redivi- 
vus, published in 1681, during the reign of Louis XIV., had pre- 
dicted the decline of the French monarchy whenever the King 
himself should cease to dazzle the nation with the meteor light 
of military glory, and it should become necessary to assemble 
the States-General, which consisted of deputies elected by the 
three estates, the nobility, the clergy, and the people at large. 
They had not met since 1614, — so truly did Louis XIV. express 
the spirit of the Bourbon kings, when he said ' I am the State.' 
The court was compelled, ngainst its will, after a year's strug- 
gle, to convoke the States for May 1789; and the nobles and 
higher clergy, fearful of the popular pretensions to liberty and 
equality, viewed the measure with jealousy and alarm. 

Necker, who was now minister, hoped to bring about a peace- 
able transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy ; 
and he called together a second assembly of the Notables, in 
24* 



282 THE REVOLUTION OF 1789. 

order, if possible, to double the number of deputies that should 
be elected from the tiers-etat, or commons, to compose the 
States-General. The Notables would not sanction the exten- 
sion of the popular principle ; and Necker persuaded Louis to 
issue an arret granting that the representation of the com- 
mons should be made equal to that of the nobility and the 
clergy together. 

In the principal cities of France, and especially in Paris, 
clubs were now formed, in which politics became the theme 
of declamation and dispute ; and the merits of the King, the 
ministers, the nobles, and the clergy, were freely and violently 
discussed. Blood was shed on the 28tfy of April 1789, in a fierce 
conflict between the mob and the military, in the Faubourg St. 
Antoine, in consequence of a tumult which arose from a report 
that a wealthy manufacturer in that quarter was an enemy 
to the tiers-etat ; — also that he had reduced his workmen's 
wages. 

One of the first acts of Necker, on his being recalled to 
the premiership and the finance, was the restoration of the 
Parliament of Paris, which for its refusal to register the taxes 
that had been proposed by Colonne, had been exiled to Troyes. 
The parliament sought to obtain from the King an equal dis- 
tribution of taxation among all orders of the state, the liberty 
of the press, and the discontinuance of the obnoxious lettres de 
cachet, or secret warrants, by means of which almost any act 
of despotism might be accomplished without assigning a rea- 
son. The States-General, who were to remedy all evils, 
opened their session, the first time for a hundred and seventy- 
five years, on the 5th of May, after the elections had produced 
the greatest excitement throughout the kingdom ; and the gov- 
ernment allowed this crisis to arrive without having attempted 
to frame any grand remedial measures ; while the Queen's 
court had occupied itself in deciding what costume each es- 
tate was to wear during the sittings : and to mark its contempt 
for the tiers-etat, the master of the ceremonies was made to give 
orders that they should wear the chapeau clabaud* or slouched 
flapping hat, without band or loop. 

The States met at the palace of Versailles, in the va&t hall 
called la Salle des Menus, which was decorated with all the 
splendor of the old regime ; and the nobility and clergy figured 
in all the pride of plumes, and gold, and ecclesiastical pomp ; 
while the unhappy Louis, from a magnificent throne, opened 
the sitting by a speech in which he censured the popular en- 
thusiasm for innovation, pointed out the situation of France, 
and recommended unity to the three orders : he then sat down 

* Clabaud signifies a clown.' 



THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 283 

amidst applauses. It was a moment of joy and hope : — but 
the Revolution had begun. 

Disputes arose respecting the manner of voting, the nobles 
and the clergy contending for the vote by orders, and not by 
individual numbers, each order previously arranging its vote 
according to its own majority. The commons refused to be 
thus extinguished, and they declined taking any part in public 
business on this principle. A month spent in delay had given 
time for the tiers-etat to be borne up by the increasing tide of 
popular opinion ; and, led on by Malouet, Mirabeau, Sieyes, 
and Le Grand, — and countenanced by several deputies who 
had left the order of the clergy, the tiers etat, on the 17th of 
June, assumed the name of the National Assembly, whose 
grand object was the formation of a constitution. 

From this moment, the King and the commons were at open 
hostilities, and that struggle, destined to be so tremendous, had 
at length begun which had long been impending between the 
human mind in its increased development, and the inveterate 
abuses of the government, — despotism and prodigality, a throne 
based on the wrecks of the feudal system, a haughty aristocra- 
cy, a court which had long been a gilded sink of iniquity, a 
clergy under whose sway the moral principle of t|ie nation 
had become almost extinct, while war was regarded as the 
chief glory, — a religion which had laid open Christianity itself, 
the only safeguard of human passions, to the attacks of a li- 
centious infidelity. 

It was in vain that Louis commanded the commons to dis- 
solve, and afterwards ordered the nobility and clergy to unite 
with them, in order to neutralise their acts, — the arm of kingly 
power was already paralysed. The King refused to withdraw 
the assembling troops; Necker, the popular and well-inten- 
tioned minister, was dismissed ; and the next day, July 12th, 
tumult and confusion reigned through Paris, and continued 
for three days. On the 14th, the mob obtained arms from the 
Hotel des Invalides, and after a sanguinary conflict of four 
hours, the obnoxious fortress-prison, the Bastille, was stormed. 
Lafayette was now universally chosen to command the national 
guard. The unfortunate King went to Paris, and amidst loud 
applauses received the tri-colored cockade from Bailly, the 
president of the Assembly. Necker was recalled ; and the 
first scene of popular insurrection ended. 

The feudal rights of the privileged orders were formally 
abolished by the Assembly ; and Louis was declared to be the 
'Restorer of the Liberties of France;' nevertheless, during 
the months of August and September, the popular excitement 
was not calmed:— the disease of the bodv-politic had too far 
advanced, and the inefficient and extorted remedies came be- 
yond the eleventh hour. The infatuated conduct of the court, 



284 THE EEV0LUT10N OF 1789. 

jnoreover, did but exasperate the mischief ; for at their banquet 
at Versailles, the national cockade was contemptuously tram- 
pled under foot. On the 5th of October the national guard 
could no longer control the people, and many thousands, chiefly 
women, instigated immediately by want, raised the cry, ' Bread ! 
bread ! — to Versailles V After horrid scenes of blood, the be- 
maddened furies consented to return to Paris, only on condi- 
tion of being accompanied by the King and Queen, who were 
compelled, on the 6th, to set off to the Tuileries, amidst shouts 
of ■ Vive le Roi V The National Assembly followed the King to 
Paris on the 19th ; and by this time the storm had become so 
alarming that many of the privileged orders fled from it to other 
countries. 

The Assembly, among other decrees, pronounced the estates 
of the church to be national property ; religious orders were 
suppressed; the arbitration of war and peace was, declared to 
belong to the Assembly ; and all distinctions of rank were 
abolished. The Federation of July 14th, 1790, seemed lor a 
moment to give the promise of peace ; for on this day, the an- 
niversary of the taking of the Bastille, a vast assembly met in 
the Champ de Mars, and the King, followed by the other au- 
thorities, took an oath of fidelity to the new Constitution which 
had been decreed by the National Assembly. At this festival, 
all appeared unanimity, and good faith ; and universal joy 
seemed to prevail. Affairs, however, soon resumed their for- 
mer attitude : the court still sought to counteract the revo- 
lution ; while its friends were not less active in maintaining 
it. 

On the 20th of June, 1791, the King and the royal family, 
endeavored to make their escape from the Tuileries, but they 
were overtaken in Lorraine, and brought beck to Paris. The 
republican members of the Assembly now began openly to 
broach their doctrines ; but the majority, with Lafayette and 
Bailly at their head, after spending three years in endeavor- 
ing to establishing a constitutional monarchy, were not pre- 
pared for so entire a change. A second revolution was ripen- 
ing, in opposition to the first,, by the agency of the Club that 
had been accustomed to meet in the convent of the Jacobins ; 
and agitation hourly increased in Paris. An immense multi- 
tude met in the Champ de Mars, to petition the Assembly to 
dethrone the King, when the national guards were ordered to 
fire, and terror and death were dealt among the crowd. The 
mixed republican party, or Girondists, originally deputies from 
La Gironde, gained ground ; and Danton, Brissot, Desmoulins, 
and others, were at their head. The term for the sitting of 
the National, or Constituent Assembly ended on the 30th of 
September, and unhappily for France they had previously 



THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY. 285 

agreed that no member of their body should form part of a 
second assembly. 

The next body, called the Legislative Assembly, elected 
according to the new laws, succeeded to the National Assem- 
bly, on the 1st of October. A Girondist ministry was now in- 
evitable ; and amidst the gathering storm of foreign war, they 
began to exchange the monarchy for a republic. The mob 
became the instrument of the most violent of the republicans ; 
and the attacks of the 20th of June, and the 10th of August, 
1792, on the Tuileries, gave the reins to democracy, and to 
forty days of anarchy. On the former of these two days, Louis 
was compelled to put on the cap of liberty, and to drink wine 
to the health of the nation. On the 10th of August, the miser- 
able king was obliged to fly from his palace to the Assembly 
for protection, and after his departure scenes ensued at the 
contemplation of which humanity turns pale. A dreadful con- 
flict took place between 1,200 of the Swiss guards, and a mob 
of 10,000 of the people and national guards ; the knell of death 
rung in the sound of the tocsin, amidst the cry 'to arms! to 
arms V and the roar of cannon and musketry proclaimed de- 
struction. A general massacre of the royal servants continued 
for two hours ; nearly 800 of the Swiss guards were killed, 
after showering down a desperate fire on the mob ; the palace 
and garden were one appalling scene of massacre and blood ; 
heaps of mangled bodies were piled one on another in the Place 
du Carrousel, to the height of twenty feet. The flames from 
the burning barracks, the stench from the consuming dead, the 
scattered bodies stripped of their clothing, some still gasping 
as they lay amidst living men sunk in intoxication, and limbs 
separated from their bleeding trunks, filled up the dreadful 
scene. 

The King was now suspended from his functions, and was 
imprisoned in the Temple, with the Queen, their son, and the 
Princess Elizabeth. It was from this time that the conflicting 
elements of human passion were aroused to their most furious 
and destructive energy. On the 2d of September, under the 
auspices of the infamous Danton, and the terrible committee 
of Public Safety, commenced the horrors attending the massa- 
cre of all the prisoners who had been accused of hostility to 
the existing state of things. These bloody orgies lasted for 
four days, during which, thousands of defenceless beings were 
murdered, under all the circumstances of the most savage and 
atrocious barbarism. Danton had become a member of the 
4 Commune of Paris, 9 a self-elected body which had risen amidst 
the confusion that followed on the fall of the throne, and had 
attempted to seize the government. This party now succeed- 
ed in supplanting the Assembly, and assumed the reins of 
power, on the 21st of September, under the name of the Na- 



286 THE REVOLUTION OF 1780. 

tional Convention. On their first day of meeting* royalty 
was declared to be eternally abolished in France ; and the 
next day it was determined that all acts of state should be dated 
from this the epoch of the Republic. The chief parties in the 
Convention were the Girondists or Brissotines, and the Moun- 
tain pyrty. Among the most celebrated of the Girondists, or 
the more moderate republicans, were Brissot and Condorcet ; 
of the Mountainists, so called from the upper seats which they 
occupied in the hall, the chief leaders were the notorious Dan- 
ton, Robespierre, Marat, and Collot d'Herbois. 

The Girondists were anxious to punish the instigators of the 
massacre of the prisoners j but the Mountain party, supported 
by the clubs and by the mob, found means of defeating this 
object, and were always able to resist the strenuous attempts of 
the Girondists on behalf of the King, whose life the latter 
wished to spare, though they had united in dethroning him. 
The Mountainists prevailed, and the unfortunate Louis was- 
decapitated on the 21st of January, 1793. 

The republicans had now to contend against a coalition of 
several of the European powers, including England; and a 
civil war broke out in La Vendee. Amidst the confusion of 
parties, and the contest for power, the country was divided, 
some holding with the Mountain party, others declaring for 
moderation ; but the Girondists were no longer able to main- 
tain their ground, and the Convention came under the dicta- 
tion of the populace. The heads of the democracy seemed 
actuated by a frenzied desperation : arming themselves with 
fury, they sought to establish their authority by inspiring ter- 
ror ; and Danton, Robespierre, and Marat, ruled by the revolu- 
tionary tribunal and the guillotine. 

During the progress and continuance of anarchy and blood- 
shed, endless dissensions and confusion arose, as was to be an- 
ticipated, among the fiendish leaders of the republic them- 
selves — each being anxious to supplant the other, and deter- 
mined to crush by a bloody despotism all who opposed. The 
Mountain party of the Convention had endeavored to cloak 
their designs against the Girondists, and their aim at dictato- 
rial power, by forming from their own partisans the ComiU de 
Salut Public, on pretence of better pioviding for the welfare 
of the republic. The Girondists were soon completely over- 
powered ; and the Committee, with Robespierre at its head, 
obtained the ascendency over the Convention, and ruled the 
destiny of France for nine or ten months, with a series of exe^ 
cutions and slaughters. Marat was assassinated by a woman, 
and Robespierre became master of the republic. 

In 1793, the Queen, Marie-Antoinette, was beheaded ; and 
soon afterwards the Duke of Orleans, and Louis's sister Eliza- 
beth, were also brought to the block. This was the terrific 



THE REIGN OF TEEROR. 287 

reign of that atheism and sanguinary tyranny, which cast off 
all restraints human and divine, and perpetrated a series of 
atrocities scarcely to be paralleled in the history of nations. 
As though to remove every lingering sense of moral obligation 
religion was wholly sacrificed to give place to atheism. Gobet 
Archbishop of Paris, publicly renounced Christianity, a melan« 
choly close to the career of Romanism, which had done so little 
to imbue the nation with moral principle. The churches were 
shut up ; public worship was abolished ; death was pronounced 
to bean endless sleep ; and among other orgies that were substi- 
tuted for religion, the festival of the goddess of reason was cele- 
brated at Notre Dame. The revolutionary tribunal hurried its 
victims to the guillotine, untried and unheard. It was enough 
that their names were on the daily list of the proscribed ; and 
the summary nature of the process of extermination often pro- 
duced mistakes in names, which caused the death of those who 
had not even been accused ! 

At Paris, Bourdeaux, Lyons, Nantes, Toulon, Arras, Stras- 
burg, and many other places, the same appalling tragedies 
were acted ; and the soil of France was steeped in the blood 
of her children, as it flowed from the scaffold, — or by the yet 
more wholesale slaughter of the sword, — the fusillade, — the 
grape-shot, — or by drowning, and various modes of death. 
The fury of the republicans was exasperated by the intrigues 
of the royalists who hoped to profit by the spectacle that 
France presented to astonished Europe ; and Robespierre de- 
clared that the system of terror was necessary to give strength 
to the government, and to consolidate the friends of the repub- 
lic against domestic and foreign enemies. This cruel despot 
was himself but the instrument of the vilest scum of society, 
who, actuated by the love of plunder, and the most brutal pas- 
sions, and having gainrd the mastery, were resolved to des- 
troy all who did not go forward with the full tide of democ- 
racy. Prudhomme, himself a republican, estimates the num- 
ber who perished in the butchery of the Revolution at consid- 
erably more than a million, — without including the massa- 
cres at Versailles, the Abbaye, the Cannes, and other prisons, 

the victims of Avignon, and of Bedoin, — nor those who 

were shot at Toulon and Marseilles, after the sieges of those 
cities.* 

* Prndhomme, Victimes de la Revolution. 

Of the torrents of blood that were shed in Paris, daring the 'Reign of 

Terror,' some idea may be formed from the statement oi Rioufie, an eye 

witness, in his M-m-mvs d'uii Detenu. Anion- oilier horrid details, lie 

sav8 • D£jfc un aque*duc immense qui devoit voitureT de sang avoit etc 

(•reuse a la pUce St. Antoine- Disons-le, auelque horrible quHl son de le 

dire, tousles JOUTS le sang humain 86 pmsoit par seaUX, et quatre homines 
etaient occupes, au moment de l'exeeution alee viderdans cet uqucduc. 



288 THE DIRECTOKY. 

Amidst the collision of infuriated parties, the ringleaders of 
the republicans became successively the judges and the con- 
demned ; and Hebert, Danton, and many others, were guillotin- 
ed. At length, after the commotions ot the 9th Thermidor,* Ro- 
bespierre, the dictator, himself, and one hundred and four 
others, shared the fate which they had inflicted on multitudes ; 
and the most bloody scene of the Revolution ended. The 
Convention now received an infusion from the friends of 
order and constitutional government ; and a number of the 
most violent democrats were executed. After a severe strug- 
gle of parties, during the progress of which even the advo- 
cates for royalty began to take courage, a new constitution 
was prepared ; and on the 13th Vindemiaire,f after more blood 
had been shed in a civil commotion in Paris, the government 
was appointed to consist of two representative bodies called 
Councils, and an Executive of five persons, to be called The 
Directory, which held its first sitting on the 28th of October 
1795. From this time the tide of revolution began to turn, 
and continued to ebb, with fluctuations, until it subsided into 
a monarchy without the name. 

The Directory found, at home, a bankrupt exchequer, and 
civil discord ; and, abroad, powerful enemies, — yet the French 
republic, liberated from the dictation of secret committees 
and communal factions, was able to maintain itself amidst the 
remaining elements of disorganization ; and the astonishing 
success that had all along attended the French arms abroad, 
while revolutions had rapidly succeeded each other at home, 
threw a warlike glory around the republic, which, in process of 
time, prepared the way for its transformation into nothing less 
than a military despotism. But at present, the contests for 
power still continued, though in a different manner from be- 
fore. There were now more conspiracies, and fewer tumults 
and riots: — but these plots, whether ro^al, or hyper-demo- 
cratical, were in general detected and defeated. 

In 1797, however, the revolution of the 18th Fmctidor,}: as 
it is called, took place, in consequence of a collision between 
the legislative and the executive powers. The Council of 
Five Hundred gave indications of being in the way to a 
counter-revolution, and in the South of France the renewed 
hopes of the royalists occasioned fresh disturbances and mas- 
sacres. Another crisis seemed impending, and the Directory, 
by calling in the aid of the army, re-established their power. 

* July 27, 1794. On the fall of the regal power, the republican date 
had been established; the names of the months were changed; they 
were all made equal in length, and five days were added ; the Sabbath 
was abolished, and the week was made to consist of ten days, 
t 4th October 1795. *4th September. 



RI8E OP BONAPARTE. 289 

That the times were altered for the better, was shown by 
the punishment that was inflicted on the deputies who 
were obnoxious to the men in power : they were banished 
from France. 

By the spring of 1799, Jacobinism had again recruited 
its strength ; the clubs revived ; and the elections were 
influenced by the reaction. Defeat had in some instances 
overtaken the French arms : this was an unpopular con- 
templation. The Directory also became divided, Moulin 
and Gohier being strenuous republicans, while Sieves, 
Barras, and Roger-Ducos, were inclined to the concentra- 
tion of power. The speedy dissolution of the Directorial 
Government became evident; and every remnant of what 
could be regarded as constitutional authority was expir- 
ing. Appearances held out the apprehension that the 
spirit of revolution might again be evoked to fury, and 
might riot afresh over a new scene of disorganization and 
anarchy : but the destinies of France were no w to be wield- 
ed by another hand, the heterogenous elements of discord 
and confusion to be repressed by a new power, and the 
reins of government were about to be held in a mightier 
grasp. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, of a family of rank in Corsica, 
had in early life entered the French army, and in the in- 
surrection of the Sections of Paris, on the celebrated 13th 
Vindemiaire, the victory obtained by the Convention was 
attributed to the military skill of this young officer, then 
twenty-six years of age. A few months afterwards, he 
was appointed General in Chief of the army that was 
destined to fight the battles of the republic in Italy, and 
to oppose the existing coalition of half Europe against 
France. 

His campaign in Italy was one continued series of 
splendid victories, obtained with a rapidity that produced 
the most enthusiastic admiration in France, and spread 
his name through Europe. After compelling the conti- 
nental powers to make peace with the Republic, he return- 
ed to Paris, having been absent a year and a half, and 
was loaded with honours : but he aspired after something 
more. The Directory dreaded his popularity, trembled 
for their own power, and resolved to amuse the ambitious 
General by proposing to him the invasion of England. 
The ' Army of England,' however, was destined for Egypt; 
and Bonaparte, who saw that France was scarcely rrpe 
for his wishes, accepted the command ; and the thunder of 
his arms, which had recently been heard beyond the Alps, 
now re-echoed from the Pyramids of the Nile. 

vol. vi. 25 



290 RISE OF BONAPARTE^. 

After gaining new victories, and organizing a repub- 
lican government for Egypt, he left the expedition, pre- 
viously to the final successes of the English in that country, 
and hastened back to France, where his journey from 
Frejus to Paris was one continual triumph. The time 
w T as come for a decisive movement towards that object 
which had long filled his imagination, and the effort was 
successful* 

France was torn by factions : civil war raged once more 
in the west ; the finances were in a state of ruin ; the Di- 
rectory was feeble; many of the Council of Five Hundred 
desired the public good, but they were divided, and could 
not govern the turbulent elements that again portended 
storm. The Directory received Bonaparte with shyness, 
and wished once more to honour him with fetes, and then 
to send him again into the field with a new command ; but 
they had to do with a man who was something more than 
a mere soldier, one who understood his position, and had 
resolved to take advantage of it. The demand for a change 
in the government was universal : and the favourite Ge- 
neral was visited by some of all parties. 

Those republicans who possessed the most of patriotism 
hoped to find in him a Washington, while the royalists 
dreamed of another Monk ; but Bonaparte had harangued 
his soldiers in Egypt on the glory of the Roman arms, and 
he breathed more of Caesar ; he had acquired immense 
popularity by his military talents, and his thoughts were 
rather those of Cromwell. The virtues of a Washington 
would have found no settled basis on which to act, amid 
the ever-shifting sands of revolution, and it required a more 
iron handed grasp to restain the yet stormy elements : 
nor would it have been possible for kingly state to have 
found security where the throne had been so completely 
razed to the ground, and all things were so changed. The 
only curb strong enough to rein in the still restless spirit 
of the revolution, was a military despotism under the name 
of a republic. 

Sieyes was the grand mover on behalf of Bonaparte, in 
overturning the constitution of the year III., or the govern- 
ment of the Directory. Talleyrand, Fouche, Lucien Bona- 
parte, and most of the generals then at Paris, were united 
in the plot. Fears were entertained respecting the Coun- 
cil of Five Hundred, and the democracy of the Faux- 
bourgs of Paris; but the Council of the Ancients decreed 
the removal of the representatives to St. Cloud, and gave 
to Bonaparte the command of the armed force. The two 
Councils opened their respective sittings on the 18th Bru- 
maire ? the 9th of November, 1799 : and while confusion 



THE CONSULATE. 291 

reigned in the Assembly, and a strong outcry arose against 
a ' dictatorship? Bonaparte suddenly appeared at the door 
of the hall, with the bristling bayonets of his victorious 
troops in his train. This roused the Assembly to indig- 
nation ; and amidst reproaches and shouts of a bas, d bas 
le dictateur ! — mourons a notre poste! — vive la republique ! 
— vive la constitution! — a bas f — a bas ! Bonaparte, who 
had been accustomed to head armies amidst showers of 
balls, is said to have turned pale, and to have fallen, as in 
a swoon, into the arms of his soldiers. Encouraged, how- 
ever, by his brother Lucien, by -Si-eyes, and by his generals, 
he adhered to the design of supplanting the existing go- 
vernment ; and the Council of Five Hundred were dis- 
persed by the troops, in the name of - General Bonaparte.* 

The deputies w T ho were favourable to his views were 
immediately re-assembled; and by them the Directorial 
Government was abolished, and a Consulate appointed 
consisting of Napoleon Bonaparte, Sieyes, and Roger- 
Ducos. The two Councils of the Directory gave place to 
legislative commissions, whose office it was to frame the 
Consular Constitution, which was no other than an abso- 
lute government. A Senate was formed consisting of a 
Tribunate of one hundred, and a Legislative Body of three 
hundred ; whose nomination, and whose functions, were 
under the immediate influence of the Consuls. In a few 
weeks, Sieyes and Roger-Ducos, became members of the 
Senate ; and Cambaceres and Lebrun were now the col- 
leagues of Bonaparte, the First Consul. But in this tri- 
umvirate, the head completely governed the inferior memr 
hers ; for the two Consuls had power only to give their 
advice to the first, as little more than his ministers. 

The new Constitution was enthusiastically received by 
the French, when formally submitted to them ; and Bona- 
parte was in full march towards absolute power. Political 
societies were forbidden ; the number of journals was 
limited ; a censorship of the press was instituted ; and an 
active and watchful police was organized. Whatever 
discontents all this occasioned, it was readily submitted to 
by the nation at large: for the French had no idea of 
genuine political freedom ; or if they had once caught a 
glimpse of it, all was lost in the fierce tyranny which after 
a time had become the evil genius of the revolution. Mi- 
litary glory, moreover, was the national passage; and 
this destructive kind of vanity Bonaparte was but too well 
able to gratify. The Consulate was established, in No- 
vember lT^i); and in less than three years, Bonaparte was 
made Consul for life, having previously been appointed 



292 THE CONSULATE. 

for ten years. His power increased, and on the 2d of De- 
cember, 1804, he became Emperor of the French. 

Such was the rise of a man, who, for fifteen years, kept 
the world in agitation and astonishment ; for his name, and 
his extraordinary achievements on the disastrous arena 
of arms, were known, and inspired terror, wherever mo- 
dern civilization had facilitated the intercourse of man- 
kind ; and were a sort of watchword of alarm, on the lips 
both of childhood and of age. Emerging like a comet 
from the chaos of the French revolution, he soon attracted 
the eyes of all to the portentous prodigy which he present- 
ed to view, as he overshadowed yet more and more of the 
political horizon, and advanced to the perihelion of his 
power, with a movementthat confounded all ordinary cal- 
culation by its rapidity, disturbed all the stars of the political 
hemisphere in their orbits, hurled many down from their 
places, swept away ancient dynasties, and changed the 
geography of Europe. 

The series of victories by which, during this period, he 
dazzled France and convulsed the world, were connected 
with events — such as had not been witnessed in the modern 
history of nations. The thrones which had stood for ages, 
like the granite masses of the primitive mountains, were 
shaken to their foundations, as with the shocks of so many 
successive earthquakes ; and many of them fell in ruins, 
as the mighty conqueror strode from capital to capital, 
and brought the astonished monarchs to his footstool. 
His genius was so prompt and decisive in executing the 
Resigns of his gigantic ambition, that to him plan and ac- 
tion were the same ; or were separated by so short an in- 
terval, that they resembled the lightning and thunder of the 
storm, whose bolt is dealt in rapid and destructive succes- 
sion, over extensive and distant tracts. 

During the height of his ascendency, Europe was no 
longer the same Europe which it had been till the last 
years of the eighteenth century ; crowns and sceptres 
were but a part of the machinery of his government, by the 
bestowment of which he sought to consolidate his power. 
The history of one quarter of the globe became a warlike 
romance ; and in the astounding drama of the political 
world, the great enchanter presented one scene after an- 
other, in which not only ancient thrones were crumbled to 
dust, but new ones arose like fairy creations at his bidding, 
while the throne from which he himself gave law, cast its 
shadow more or less broad and deep, from the Ural moun- 
tains to the pillars of Hercules, and from the Ulyrian pro- 
vinces, and the Mediterranean, to the Arctic circle, and the 
shores of the Baltic, 



conaparte's campaigns. 293 

It was his military fame, already acquired in the repub- 
lican armies, that had enabled him to seize the helm of 
government, while the surges left behind by the terrific 
storm that had desolated France, still violently agitated 
the vessel of the state. France had armed against her the 
ancient dynasties of Europe, and a field was thrown open 
for the war-like talents of Bonaparte. His surprising suc- 
cesses in Italy, against the Austrians, had given an im- 
pulse to his own ambition, and held him up to France as a 
hero. The next year, Germany was the seat of war, and 
Bonaparte and his co-generals had taken possession of the 
greater part of the territory between the Adriatic and the 
frontiers of Bohemia, 

The opening of another year had seen him again reap- 
ing the disastrous laurels of victory, amid the monuments 
of the dominion of ancient Rome, and against the forces 
of the Pope; and the conqueror had dictated a humiliating 
peace to Aim, whose predecessors in the chair of St. Peter 
couid boast that monarchs had acted as their grooms, 
when they rode in state through the adoring crowds. The 
Alps had next witnessed the march of the modern Han- 
nibal, to compel Austria to accept of a treaty which gave 
her Netherland provinces to France, and erected the 
Northern States of Italy into the Cisalpine Republic. Thus 
did Bonaparte silence for a time the thunders of war that 
had opened from various quarters on France ; which was 
now at peace with all Europe, excepting Great Britain, 
after having vanquished Holland, overthrown the Venetian 
States, crushed the independence of Italy, and weakened 
the power of Austria. 

The Egyptian expedition, which next followed, though 
ostensibly designed to chastise the turbulent Beys, and to 
re-establish the power of the Grand Signior, was a war of 
conquest; and Alexandria and Cairo speedily fell before 
the French general, who now had the address to retreat 
from impending disasters, and to seize the helm of govern- 
ment in France. 

Bonaparte was scarcely invested with the Consular 
power, when, aware of the effect produced on the French 
by the renown of victory, he was once more in arms. He 
crossed the Alps ; and success again attended his career, 
and that of his generals, against the Austrians ; who were 
so crushed at Marengo and Hohenlinden, that the Ger- 
man emperor, to save himself from ruin, consented <o 
the Treaty of Luneville. after a campaign of forty days. 

The increase of military glory did but inspire the modern 
Caesar with a more intense passion for arbitrary power; 
and he who had saved the revolution without, wusregurd- 
25* 



294 THE POWER OP FRANCE. 

ed by the republicans as its destroyer within ; while the 
royalists saw everything but as dross that was not stamp- 
ed with legitimacy. The attempts that were made against 
the life of the First Consul, only produced a reaction still 
more unfavourable to freedom ; and, in 1801, about a hun- 
dred and thirty individuals were at once expatriated : nor 
did innocence, though proved by the discovery of the real 
conspirators, avail to save the accused from banishment 
to the burning plains of Guiana, the 'Equinoctial France.' 
In the mean time, the priests, and other emigrants, were 
recalled ; and, by a concordat with the Pope, the Catholic 
religion was re-established in all its pomp ; and in almost 
all its pretensions, excepting its relations with the govern- 
ment, and its exclusion of toleration: for every form of 
worship was protected, and special care was taken to 
subordinate the triple crown to the Consular fasces ; and 
to keep the Pope from exercising any independent, or 
really co-ordinate power. 

The peace of Amiens between Great Britain and France, 
in 1802, hushed for a short period the storm of war ; and 
the repose of Europe gave to the great military Chief, the 
opportunity of still further assimilating the curule chair to 
the imperial throne. Bonaparte was now Consul for life, 
with the right of nominating his successor. He could, by 
the Constitution, create senators at his pleasure, and this 
subservient body had power to reform the laws, manage 
the elections, annul the acts of the authorities, and even 
the judgments of the tribunals, as well as to suspend the 
jury : such was the absolute domination of the hero of the 
Revolution! such the civil prostration of France! There 
was industry, and commerce, and public credit : magnifi- 
cent monuments of art and civilization reared themselves 
to the honour of the Consulate: a comprehensive code of 
civil legislation, immortalized the age, and carried equity 
into all the relations of society : everything was secure 
but that which gave umbrage to despotism — there w r as 
everything but liberty. 

The power of France at this period was immense. In 
addition to her former territory, she reckoned as her own 
the Netherlands, Germany w T est of the Rhine, Geneva, 
Savoy, and Piedmont. The Consul was President of the 
Cisalpine Republic, which included the Milanese, and a 
large portion of the Venetian territories ; the duchies of 
Mantua, Parma, and Modena; and some of the former 
possessions of the Papal See. The Ligurian republic had 
no greater independence : and Tuscany was a vassal 
monarchy. Spain was the same, under the flattering title 
of an ally. Holland, also, was in chains to France; and 



BONAPARTE EMPEROR, 1804. 295 

the Swiss Republics possessed little more than the name 
of a national existence, and could not call the Alps their 
own. Austria had seen her armies routed, and she was 
alarmed and humbled: Prussia had shown subserviency: 
all Germany, and the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, 
were overawed : Russia was passive : and there was not 
a continental power, whose politics were not influenced 
more or less by those of France, or which did not look 
with apprehension to that quarter of the horizon, in which 
the dreaded vision of her rapid eagles, her veteran armies, 
and her triumphant Dictator, might be expected to appear. 
Britain alone, enthroned on her own seas, amid the wreck 
of nations, and secure under the protection of the Almigh- 
ty, was able to lift a front of defiance to this gigantic and 
still waxing dominion. 

The dispute respecting Malta again roused the tocsin of 
war between France and England, in 1803 ; and Hanover 
and Osnaburgh were soon taken possession of by Bona- 
parte. Another plot against the Consul caused imprison- 
ment, banishment and death ; and the Prince de Conde, 
Due d'Engien, suffered under the charge of being at the 
head of a band of conspirators. At length Bonaparte re- 
ceived the title of Emperor from the Tribunate, in which 
body, the only perishing shadow that remained of consti- 
tutional liberty, the last faint echo of the voice of the Re- 
public was heard, in the objections of Carnot, Lambrecht, 
and Gregoire: and now, amidst the acclamations of France, 
a hereditary throne, prouder and more despotic than that 
of the Bourbons, is seen planted on the disjointed frag- 
ments of several successive revolutions ; and those who, 
five years before, declared they would c die for the Repub- 
lic,' now rend the air with shouts of Vive Napoleon, Empe- 
reur des Frangais ! But, in some respects, the change was 
not so great as at first view it might appear; for it was 
but a speedy transition from one form of despotism to an- 
other : and however the door to rational freedom might 
still be closed, there would seem to be little room for de- 
liberation in choosing between the reign of a military sove- 
reign like Bonaparte, and that of Robespierre, or of the 
Sans-Culottes of the Faubourg St. Antoine. 

The public feeling had so altered, that the ancient pile 
of Ndtre Dame, which had, a few years ago, resounded to 
the infatuated orgies of democracy and atheism, now be- 
held the pomp of a more than regal coronation, when 
Rome sent Pius VII. to anoint Napolcan with the conse- 
crated oil. France, ever vain, and regarding the splen- 
dour of her monarchs as that of every once of her children, 
was reconciled to an approach towards the old regime. 



296 Bonaparte's power. 

There were now marshals, and princes of the Empire; a 
grand almoner, imperial chaplains, and a confessor. The 
clergy, in general, worshipped the ascending sun of power, 
with a servile reverence, which significantly told that the 
time was gone by when potentates might be excommuni- 
cated, and that now the church had become the creature 
of the throne. The relics of the ancient court gave to the 
new scene an air of legitimacy ; but, at the same time, 
contrasted strangely with the novi homines of the military 
and senatorial noblesse. The Tribunate was abolished, 
the press, and personal liberty, were subjected to more 
stringent laws, state-prisons were re-established, imperial 
decrees were issued, and the ghost of liberty had vanished. 

After a vain threat to England, Napoleon placed himself 
at the head of 200,000 men, to put down the third coalition 
of the European powers ; and this campaign w 7 as another 
series of triumphs. In two months, Suabia, Franconia, 
and Bavaria, were overrun, and the French Emperor en- 
tered Vienna; and a fortnight afterwards again totally 
routed the combined hosts of Austria and Russia. He 
was acknowledged King of Italy, and the Electoral Princes 
to whom he had given thrones, were recognized by the 
German emperor. Napoleon's brother Joseph was created 
King of Naples ; Louis, King of Holland ; and the Empress 
Josephine's son became Viceroy of Italy : Murat was made 
Grand Duke of Berg; and Berthier Prince of Neuchatel. 
Napoleon assumed the title of Protector of the Confedera- 
tion of the Rhine : Austria was prostrate at his feet ; and, 
in 1806, Francis II. was obliged to renounce the title of 
Emperor of Germany. In another campaign, not less 
successful than the former, the Prussian armies were al- 
most annihilated, the power of the monarchy crushed, and 
Berlin occupied by French troops. Soon afterwards, Po- 
land was the seat of war, and the Russians were defeated 
at Pultusk. Europe once more breathed at the peace of 
Tilsit, except Sweden, which was soon reduced to terms. 
Jerome Bonaparte, and the Elector of Saxony, were made 
kings 5 and Russia and Prussia joined France in the com- 
mercial blockade against England. 

Napoleon had now reached the zenith of his power; and 
France, astounded and enraptured at the greatness to 
which he had raised her, forgot all thoughts of freedom ; 
while she conferred on her master the epithet of le Grand, 
The last secret sparks of liberty seemed extinguished by 
the surges of the national pride, and by the full tide of 
military fame; and all the factions had vanished. But the 
brilliancy of this meridian glory was not destined to be of 
long duration. Insatiable ambition, and the intoxication 



THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 297 

of power, no longer preserved even the semblance of 
truth or justice; and war became only the expression of 
the arbitrary will of the mighty despot of Europe. 

Yet the world was still, for a time, to be struck with 
wonder at new achievements. The Prince Regent of 
Portugal fled to the Brazils from before the French arms. 
Madrid was occupied by the imperial legions, and Charles 
VI. ceded the crown of Spain and the Indies to Bonaparte, 
who treacherously placed his own brother Joseph on the 
throne. This led to a sanguinary war, the beginning of 
disasters to the great tyrant, and which after six years 
terminated with his fall. Renewed hostilities with Austria 
ended once more in her complete humiliation; and Spain 
alone remained the eyesore of ambition. The Pope was 
suspected of intrigue against the imperial power, and 
being menaced in his capital, began to hurl at Bonaparte 
the spent and idle thunders of the Vatican ; but they re- 
coiled upon St. Peter's chair. The Pope was dethroned, 
and held prisoner in France; and the Roman states were 
annexed to her territory. 

The star of Napoleon's destiny, however, was about to 
set, and to be finally combust in its own fires. His ambi- 
tion became an instinct, which led him to trample on all 
opposing interests, whether sacred or profane. Josephine, 
the guardian angel of his throne, the moderator of his 
schemes, and the object of his real love, was sacrificed to 
the policy of founding the fourth dynasty of France, the 
house of Napoleon, that was to reign over a second Car- 
lovingian empire. Josephine was repudiated, and, amidst 
the crowd of royal and imperial princesses, Marie-Louise, 
the daughter of humbled Austria, was chosen, in 1810, to 
fill the throne of her unfortunate aunt, Marie-Antoinette. 
The French empire, about this period, comprehended Hol- 
land, Belgium, part of Germany, and of Switzerland, and 
all Ital) r ; and Napoleon reigned absolutely over forty- 
three millions: but henceforth, his history became a series 
of reverses. 

He formed the design of reducing Russia, and giving 
law from the ancient palace of the Czars. Untaught by 
the example of Charless XII. of Sweden, he ventured on 
a winter campaign, amidst the snows and ices of the north, 
with an army oi half a million, composed of sixteen na- 
tions. Moscow was fired by its inhabitants, and Bona- 
parte, witli a portion of his troops, rode through its de- 
serted streets, amidst the flames that on every side glared 
upon him. as a fiend in human shape, the curse of human- 
ity, and the demon of all the horrors that reigned around. 
The fighting retreat, through whirlwinds of snow, and all 



298 THE FALL OF BONAPARTE. 

the rigours of a Russian winter, completed the work of 
carnage and misery; and at least half a million of human 
beings perished in a hundred end seventy days, to gratify 
the infernal lust of power, which remorselessly converted 
the whole region of its march into a theatre of blood, and 
crime, and misery — presenting one of the darkest and 
most appalling tragedies that war ever exhibited on the 
earth ! 

The failure of this expedition was connected with dis- 
affection and plot at home ; and France herself began to 
perceive, that in consequence of the gigantic ambition of 
her military despot, she was under the ban of Europe, 
being regarded as the centre from which emanated all its 
miseries. 

The time was come for the downfall of Bonaparte. De- 
serted by several of his allies, he entered on another cam- 
paign, with a new army, and the Russians and Prussians 
were compelled to retreat towards Silesia. The Emperor 
of Austria, seeing that his son-in-law was not sincerely 
disposed to peace, from a mediator became an enemy; 
and the war was attended with various fortunes, till at the 
battle of Leipsic, in October 1813, the French were com- 
pletely routed by the allies ; who, amidst surrounding re- 
volutions, all tending to the dismemberment of the French 
empire, began to enter France. Bonaparte, with a legis- 
lative body contrary to his views, and a staff of officers 
on whom he could not depend, endeavoured in vain to 
rouse the French nation to arms; and after contending for 
three months against a million of enemies, he was de- 
posed, on the 2d of April, 1814; and the military despotism 
of nearly fifteen years, received its death-blow, prepara- 
tory to its last convulsive struggle, the following year, at 
Waterloo. 

Such was the fall of a man, who, far from being by na- 
ture a Nero, or a Caligula, was still his own god; and was 
prepared, without pity, to sacrifice millions, as a holocaust 
to his ambition ; and to resort to hypocrisy, impiety, and 
acts of barbarism, if these were deemed necessary to ac- 
complish his ends. He was the means of unsettling those 
ancient fabrics of civil and ecclesiastical legitimacy, that 
have checked the march of human improvement; and his 
extraordinary career, though in itself so despotic, has 
been productive, on the whole, of the advancement of 
freedom, the grand basis of every other social benefit. 
History is fraught with melancholy examples of the moral 
disorder in the constitution of man which has produced 
all his woes : the only consolation is, that if evil is per- 
mitted, out of it good may be educed, 



GENERAL ASPECT, 299 



LETTER XXII. 

Paris — Messageries — Situation, and general appearance — The Seine 
Bridges — Gluays — Extent — Mode of numbering houses — Camera 
Obscura — Views from the Bridges — Purity of the atmosphere — 
Want of planted squares — Barrieres — Boulevards — Passion for 
amusement — French character — Execution — Effect of events — Pa- 
lais des Thermes — Palais Royal — Tuileries — Place de Carrousel 
— The Louvre — Place Vendome — Place Louis Gluinze — Magnifi- 
cence — Arc de l'Etoile — Hotel des Invalides — Churches — Notre 
Dame, etc. — The Luxembourg — Bourse — Jardin du Roi — The 
Pantheon— Gobelins — Glaces — Revolution of 1830. 

My dear Friend : On reaching Paris at three o'clock in 
the morning, we soon found ourselves at the Messagerie 
Generate, one of those spacious areas, surrounded by nu- 
merous bureaux, from which diligences set off to all the 
surrounding countries of Europe : and the traveller who 
wishes to go to Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, or 
Belgium, or to embark for England, is directed by the 
names of these countries, which he sees over the office- 
doors, where to apply. 

It is usual in France for the conductor's fee to be in- 
cluded in what is paid for the fare ; which is stated in the 
receipt that is given securing the places : and as our lug- 
gage was but slightly inspected, and every facility for 
obtaining porters and coaches was at hand, there was little 
cause of delay, and a short time sufficed to establish us at 
the Hotel de Lille, near the Palais Royal. 

The situation of Paris may in some respects be com- 
pared with that of London, the most important part being 
north of the Seine, though there is an immense population 
on the south side. The calcareous hill of Montmartre, is 
the Highgate, or Hampstead, of Paris, being on the north, 
and the most elevated ground in the environs j it is how- 
ever a more immediate suburb, and is too near to com- 
mand a very advantageous view. The neighbourhood of 
the Tuileries, and the Faubourg St. Germain, may be re- 
garded as the Westminster of the French metropolis — as 
including the seat of royalty, and partly that of govern- 
ment, with the mansions of the nobility and gentry, and 
lying on the western side. 

The general appearanceof Paris, as compared with that 
of London, in regard to the width, cleanliness, Hegance, 
and beauty of the streets, and the accommodation for foot- 
passengers, cannot fail to strike the Englishman, as in- 
comparably to the disadvantage of the French capital. 



300 PARIS. 

The narrowness of the streets, and of the trottoir,oY pave- 
ment, in most places, and the multitudes of fiacres, omni- 
buses, and carts, which are all in motion together in such 
confined spaces, render it almost impractibJe for ladies to 
walk about Paris, especially if the weather has been at all 
wet. The houses are built of stone, and are very lofty, 
not unlike those of the Old Town in Edinburgh; and, as 
in that city, they are frequently inhabited by a number of 
different families. You often find, when a great gateway 
is accidentally opened, as you are passing by, that a very 
splendid mansion is entirely concealed from view by a 
dead wall, giving the idea of its having been erected in a 
prospective regard to the dangers of war, and of revolu- 
tion. 

The Seine appears utterly insignificant to a Londoner 
who has been accustomed to the ample tide of the noble 
Thames, with its forests of shipping, and the many superb 
bridges which are thrown across it, exhibiting triumphs of 
human ingenuity and skill which are scarcely to be ex- 
ceeded in any of the works of art. The Seine is scarcely 
half the breadth of the Thames, has no shipping, and pre- 
sents banks of mud which, in dry weather, have an effect 
far from agreeable. Nor is this river improved by the 
wash-houses of the blanchisseuses that border the water, 
though the floating baths are neat and elegant. 

Of the eighteen or nineteen bridges, the Pont Neuf is 
the largest and most ancient ; and the most imposing as 
you cross it is the Pont Louis Seize, so called from its 
having been commenced while that unhappy monarch still 
sat on the throne. This bridge is adorned with colossal 
statues of several of the great men of France, and leads 
from the magnificent Place Louis Q,uinze to the beautiful 
front of the Palais Bourbon. The reason why there are 
so many bridges is, that in the very heart of Paris there 
are three islands in the river, one of which, now called La 
Cite, is the site of Lutetia, the ancient capital of the Pa- 
risii, mentioned by Caesar and Strabo. This name, as 
some suppose, was derived from the lutum, or mud, that 
abounded all over the neighbourhood, which Caesar* de- 
scribes as a perpetual marsh. Several of these bridges 
unite the islands with each other, and with the shores. On 
the principal one, the Pont Neuf, is a fine equestrian statue 
in bronze of Henry IV., with bas-reliefs on the pedestal, 
representing his humanity in supplying the Parisians with 
provisions, at the time when they were holding out against 

* Bell, Gall. vii. 57. 



VIEWS FROM THE BRIDGES. 301 

him, during the disastrous civil wars of the Catholic 
League. 

The Quais of the Seine constitute one of the most 
striking features of Paris : they are raised on a deep em- 
bankment of stone, on both sides of the river, but there is 
comparatively little trafic on them, and no ranges of ware- 
houses lining the banks, as in London, where vast piles of 
building along the shore, convey so powerful an impres- 
sion of commercial greatness. In London, the banks of 
the river are too valuable to be employed for any thing 
but wharfs and warehouses, and the Thames, excepting 
when it is crossed, is scarcely seen by him who traverses 
the vast English metropolis : but in Paris, there is a con- 
siderable space between the terraces of building and the 
river, and the long quays form an agreeable public path- 
way, defended by a parapet wall. 

The extent of the city along the Seine is computed to 
be more than four miles, and its greatest breadth from 
north to south, nearly the same. The mode of numbering 
the houses savours of the ingenuity of the French in mat- 
ters of detail, and must sometimes be a convenience to 
those residents who are aufait at the system. If the num- 
bers are black, and decreasing, you know that you are 
approaching the river — if red and increasing, you are go- 
ing parallel with the river, from east to west; and vice 
versa. You are sometimes reminded of the quickness and 
cleverness of the French, by the most trifling things. If a 
man exhibits to you, on the Pont des Arts, the exquisitely 
finished picture formed by the camera obscura, of the gay 
and striking panorama around you, he contrives to an- 
nounce that the show is ended, by suddenly stepping out, 
and presenting on the parchment, as the last scene, a 
solitary figure of himself, with a style of bow, which an 
Englishman in the same station would scarcely be capa- 
ble of imitating. 

It is from one or tw T o of the more western bridges, that 
some of the finest views in Paris are obtained, consisting 
of the lofty and immense piles of buildings which rear 
themselves on both sides of the Seine : on the left, the end 
of the royal palace of the Tuileries, the vast gallery of the 
Louvre, and a long line of other buildings beyond it; on 
the right the Palais Bourbon, the Institute, and the Mint, 
forming with other magnificent edifices an extent of a 
mile in length, and terminated by the solid towers of Notre 
Dame. Though the views from the bridges are more con- 
fined than in our own metropolis, and have not the advan- 
tage of so great a number of spires and towers, yet the 
effect is grand and massy. 

vol. vi. 26 



302 PARIS. 

The quays form a scene of considerable animation and 
activity, which exhibits with its moving and motley groups,, 
a specimen of all the varieties of Parisian life and rank* 
Palaces and shops, fruitsellers and bookstalls, soldiers and 
boatmen; the costume of the lower class, with caps white 
as snow, and the elegance of the Parisian haut ton / the 
young officer of Louis Philippe, and the veteran, adorned 
with his orders, and carrying in his port somewhat of the 
aristocracy of war, having served under the First Consul i 
and while the industrious washerwomen are plying their 
task on the river, the quays above are lined with carts and 
carriages, among which may pass along, one, which, by 
its antique form and decorations, points back to the old 
regime, and recals the palmy days of Louis XIV. 

The pure atmosphere of Paris allows everything to be 
seen in a clear and brilliant light, with that peculiar, angu- 
lar, and well-defined appearance, which gives to objects 
so prominent a relief, and adds so much distinctness to* 
the perspective. In consequence of the city being so free 
from smoke, the sky appeared to be as blue and clear as 
in the country ; and from the top of the towers of Notre 
Dame, the perfect transparency of the air was remarkably 
striking. Whether this may be one cause of the elasticity 
and hilarity of feeling which the air here seems to inspire, 
may not be easy to determine ; but ceatain it is, that, in 
Paris, you escape the Stygian smoke which pours forth 
from our coal fires in London. 

With a smaller census than London, the central part of 
Paris conveys much more of the idea of confinement and 
immurement, as the population is more densely crowded 
together ; and several of the Fauxbourgs have an air of 
discomfort and meanness which is anything but inviting ; 
but the Faubourg St. Germain contains handsome streets, 
and many of the hotels, or mansions, of the nobility and 
gentry, and the whole neighbourhood of the Tuileries is 
exceedingly fine. You look in vain, however, to find the 
densely-crowded masses of houses relieved by those 
agreeable shrubberies, or little parks, that delightful rus in 
urbe, with which the English capital so much abounds, in 
its numerous squares. Nor does the neighbourhood of 
Paris exhibit those elegant suburban villas, which adorn 
the spacious outlets of London. In the French capital the 
strange mixture of magnificence and meanness, strikes 
you at almost every turn, and you have sometimes to get 
to a splendid palace, or a noble church, through very nar- 
row and disagreeable streets. 

To prevent the evasion of the excise duty, Paris was 
surrounded, about fifty years ago, with a wall, which is 



STREETS. BARRIERS. 303 

just within the external Boulevards. The circumference 
of the city is about fifteen miles. A great number of Bar- 
riereSj or gates, form the entrances, through this wall ; 
many of which are very tasteful and ornamental struc- 
tures. 

But it is the interior Boulevards that constitute the fea- 
ture which most redeems the general appearance of the 
streets of the French metropolis. These delightful public 
walks, now in the midst of the city, occupy the site of the 
ancient ramparts, and are a memorial of the reign of 
Louis the XlVth. They surround the centre of the town, 
with a circumference of eight or nine miles, describing a 
rude circle, part of which becomes, on the south, for a 
considerable space, identical with that of the outer Boule- 
vards. This line of wide road is truly magnificent, and 
is probably not to be paralleled in Europe. It is planted 
with ranks of trees, which divide the central part from the 
broad and commodious paths for foot-passengers. On 
each side, are rows of buildings, many of which, on the 
northern Boulevards, are elegant, consisting of handsome 
shops and magazines, fitted up with every kind of mer- 
chandise : and with the activity of commerce are blended 
noble private mansions, places of amusement, and gor- 
geous coffee-houses, and taverns, with here and there a 
triumphal arch, or a beautiful fountain. 

The church of La Madeleine, in the Boulevard of the 
same name, is an exquisite Grecian temple, but is not yet 
completely finished, and on inquiry we found that admit- 
tance could not be obtained to see the interior, without ap- 
plication to the government. On the Boulevard du Tem- 
ple, is a chateau d>eau, the effect of which is very beautiful 
and imposing : it was erected by order of Napoleon in the 
noontide of his glory. Some of the Boulevards are quiet 
and solitary ; but from the Boulevard de la Madeleine, to 
the Boulevard du Temple, they are one grand centre of 
attraction to the gay and thoughtless Parisians. Here, in 
a fine summer's evening, you may see thousands, of both 
sexes, sitting in groups under the trees, and in front of the 
brilliant cafes ; some reading newspapers, sipping coffee, 
or taking ices ; others engaged in lively conversation, and 
employing all the animated gesticulation which marks the 
continent, and particularly the French. 

On the Boulevards, the past and the future seem alike 
forgotten, in the idle amusements of the present hour. On 
one side may sometimes be seen harlequins, buffoons, bal- 
lad-singers, and monkeys dressed up, and taught to bow 
precisely & la Frangaise ; on the other, musicians, and 
punchinellos : here, a man eating fire, and there, another, 



304 paris. 

whose stomach seems to be an inexhaustible magazine of 
ribbons ; while the continually passing and renewed crowd, 
occupied in gazing at each other, at the equipages, and at 
the varieties that surround them ; the perpetual hum of 
voices that is heard over the gay and busy scene, and the 
tout ensemble which it exhibits, convince the reflective 
stranger that to kill time is here held to be one grand con- 
cern of human life, and that pour s^amuser expresses the 
motive for half the actions of the trifling and thoughtless 
multitudes, who throng the public walks, and the frequent- 
ed places of the French metropolis. 

The passion for amusement seems much more preva- 
lent here, than with the English, and descends much lower 
in the scale of society, perhaps from its cheapness, and 
from the greater similarity of habits, and the sense of 
equality, which exist in France. There are in Paris, 
nearly two hundred places of public amusement, and it is 
calculated that no less than twenty thousand persons 
nightly frequent the salles de spectacle. Having occasion 
to get a book bound, I called for it at an early hour in the 
evening, but found the book-binder's shop fast, and was 
informed, by his neighbours, that Monsieur was alle au 
spectacle, in a tone which seemed to imply that this was 
as much a part of his day's business as book-binding. 

The French character is said to have altered conside- 
rably since the great revolution, and to have become less 
gay and frivolous than before. This may be, but there is 
still a marked distinction in this respect between our neigh- 
bours and ourselves. The volatility of the French people, 
the quicksilver which they seem to possess, is continually 
obtruding itself on your notice, in the most trifling occur- 
rences. Voltaire has, not very flatteringly, described his 
countrymen as a compound of the 'monkey and the tiger.' 
To judge whether there be any truth in this very severe 
caricature, those only can pretend who have had much 
intercourse with the French, and have become intimately 
acquainted with the national character: but it does not 
require a long residence in France, in order to perceive a. 
gaiety and volatility of manner, which age does not seem 
to subdue ; and French writers themselves acknowledge 
that the native fire of the people easily degenerates into 
ferocity. Their vivacity, mobility of gesture, complain 
sance, apparent readiness to oblige, and warmth of pro- 
fession, at once strike every stranger : but compliments 
appear to be the current coin of society, and are often 
mere words. Even the refined, chivalrous, and prover- 
bial politeness of the old regime, is said no longer to 
exist, 



PARIS. 305 

If the English population, in general, are less polished, 
and more phlegmatic in their address, than their neigh- 
bours, they are, probably, as has been remarked by ob- 
servers, less inclined to inconstancy, and to those rash 
and hasty resentments which constitutional ardour may 
readily admit. At Troyes, where the diligence stopped 
on the way from Switzerland, at a very early hour in the 
morning, it was amusing to witness the instantaneous 
manner in which a scuffle arose between a French gen- 
tleman and the book-keeper, a lad of eighteen, who was 
rubbing his eyes, and seemed scarcely enough awake to 
give Monsieur his change, so quickly as was desired. 
The gentleman was impatient, and the book-keeper inti- 
mated to him that there was no great hurry, as the dili- 
gence stayed some time. Monsieur instantly flew at the 
book-keeper, as he was sitting at his desk, and began 
slapping his face, and cuffing him about the head and 
ears in a very active manner, calling him ' un petit pois- 
$071,' and declaring, with no very benign expression of 
countenance, that a little chastisement would do him 
good.' 

Such scenes as were witnessed during the ten years of 
revolution, in the interval between the fall of the royal 
authority and the consulate, could not fail to have their 
effect on the nation, and to familiarize even posterity with 
the remembrance of blood. When last in Paris, I was 
borne along by a tide of people who were going down the 
Gluai Pelletier to the Place de Greve, to the execution of a 
criminal, and finding myself at the very edge of the plat- 
form on which stood the guillotine, and feeling horror at 
the idea of witnessing the minutiae of the decapitation, I 
made my way, by a great effort, through the dense masses 
of people that wedged up all the avenues leading to the 
fatal spot, and succeeded in crossing the Pont Notre Dame, 
so as to behold the awful sight from across the river. In 
a few moments, the procession came along the quay, con- 
sisting of a cart, with the criminal, attended by two priests. 
The cart halted at the foot of the scaffold ; immediately 
there was a movement on the platform, and the next mo- 
ment—for there was no interval — the axe could be dis- 
cerned falling down the guillotine: almost instantly the 
cart was again in motion with the headless body: the fall 
of the instrument of death, however, was all that could be 
discerned of the execution, from the opposite side of the 
riv< 

But the guilt of the wretched malefactor, who had com- 
mitted murder, was not the only painful reflection imme- 
diately connected with this scene of retribution. The 

2G* 



306 PAfcts. 

sudden change that was expressed in the feelings of the 
crowd, from the silence of tragic expectation to a heart- 
less kind of merriment expressed in jokes and shrugs, and 
the repeated exclamation, e'en est jini, was revolting. 
Whether an English mob of equal number would have 
discovered the same frivolity under similar circumstances, 
and have given indications of regarding so solemn a 
transaction equally in the light of a spectacle, or not, cer- 
tain it is, that the concourse of both sexes who flocked in 
thousands from the spot, seemed more like persons re- 
turning from a holiday than from an execution. 

It is scarcely possible that a people who have been ac- 
customed to the sight, or the eager contemplation, of 
bloodshed, for so many years, should not, in some degree, 
have felt the effeet on their national character.* During 
the revolutionary times, blood was flowing as water from 
the guillotine, and scenes of violence and carnage were 
common occurrences : and, by Bonaparte, the people were 
taught to look on men as little more than the materiel of 
an army, and as born for the slaughter-house of war, in 
order to support the glory of France ; so that the shed- 
ding of human blood was a thing consecrated by the na- 
tional vanity. 

The same people have been deeply enslaved by super- 
stition, on the one hand ; and on the other, have been ex- 
posed, more perhaps than any other nation, to that infi- 
delity which pronounces men to be mere animals, of a 
higher order, and that death is an everlasting sleep. Yet, 
notwithstanding all the disadvantages to which the French 
have been subjected, there are in the national character 
moral energies of the highest promise, which only require 
to be guided by the transforming influences of true reli- 
gion, in order to be of the greatest benefit to the church, 
and to the world ; and it is not to be doubted that these 
volatile people are destined, one day, to make lively, active, 
and interesting Christians. 

Paris is such a world, that it would be hopeless to at- 
tempt, in brief, more than a slight survey. Its public 
buildings, by their number and their magnificence, distin- 
guish it above most of the capitals of Europe, and render 
it a queen among cities. There is here, too, a fine, and 

* The late Abbe Farquharson frequently mentioned the fact, as 
having transpired under his own eye, during the revolution, that 
Punch was exhibited immediately beneath the guillotine ; and the 
plausus theatri were continually awarded to his feats, though even 
the puppets were sometimes sprinkled with the blood of the perish- 
ing victims. 



THE PALAIS ROYAL. 307 

solitary specimen of Roman antiquity, called the Palais 
des Thermes, situated south of the Seine, in the Rue de la 
Harpe ; and we did not fail to visit this relict of the gran- 
deur of the former masters of Gaul, and of the world. It 
consists of the remains of one large vaulted apartment, 
sixty feet high, chiefly of Roman brick, and was the hall 
belonging to the baths of an extensive palace. It is sup- 
posed to have been erected by Constantius Chlorus, the 
colleague of Galerius in the empire, in 306, and to have 
been occupied by himself, and by Julian, Valentinian, and 
Valens. Paris appears to have been a favourite place of 
the emperor Julian, who in his ' Misopogon J speaks of it 
as his ' dear Lutetia.' This may account for the remains 
being called Les Bains de Julien. After the Romans had 
held possession of Lutetia for five hundred years, the 
Franks became its masters, and the Merovingian kings 
are said to have established themselves in the palace of 
the Caesars. 

One of the most striking features of this great city, is 
the Palais Royal, a surprising monument of ecclesiastical 
luxury and ambition; for it was built by Cardinal Riche- 
lieu, who left it by will to Louis XIII. Louis the XlVth 
gave it to the Duke of Orleans ; and at the time of the re- 
volution it was the residence of Philippe EgaliU, the pro 7 
fligate and abandoned prince who was one of the first 
promoters of that anarchy and confusion which ultimately 
Drought himself to the scaffold. The southern end of this 
superb mass of building, which is of the Doric and Ionic 
orders, is still a royal palace ; but the greater part of the 
whole is let out in shops, coffee-houses, taverns, and suites 
of apartments ; and it brings in an immense revenue to 
its present royal owner, who is said to be the richest man 
in Europe. It is the grand bazaar of Paris, where mer- 
chandise, and luxury, may be found in abundance. 

Independently of the court, and the buildings connected 
with the royal residence, the vast, lofty, and magnificent 
parellelogram, lined with a hundred and eighty arcades, 
encloses a space of about six acres, in the centre of which 
is a garden, and a fountain fifty feet high, rising from an 
immense basin, and showering down, in numerous diver- 
gent streams, the colours of the rainbow, amid the sur- 
rounding scene of life and gaiety. A gallery, or terrace, 
which goes round the building, is supported by the ar- 
cades ; and on the south side, is an elegant double range 
of splendid shops, beneath an immense skylight But it 
is under the side arcades, that the brilliancy and beauty of 
the jewellery, and costly articles of workmanship, in gold, 
silver, and precious stones, exhibited with the utmost 



308 PARi& 

French taste, and splendidly illuminated at night, dazzle 
the eyes of the innumerable loungers that press forward 
in the busy, and ever-flowing throng. 

There are said to be between seven and eight hundred 
suites of apartments in this immense aggregate of uniform 
buildings, occupied by persons of various grades of so- 
ciety, and following a great variety of pursuits. The 
ground-floor contains a multitude of small but elegant 
shops, devoted to ornaments and luxuries of every de- 
scription ; and there are here also some large and splendid 
cafes. The upper stories are inhabited by private families, 
and many of the apartments are used as reading-rooms^ 
places for public exhibitions, literary societies, coffee- 
houses, taverns and the like. 

The whole place, above and below, teems with popula-- 
tion ; and seems to form an epitome of all Paris. Here, 
too, are the haunts of gaming, and the dens of vice, infa- 
my, and ruin, which have long rendered the French me* 
tropolis a sink of iniquity, and a fountain of pollution to 
France. Here lurk the harpies of fortune and of life, of 
the body and of the soul, either under the mask of ele- 
gance and fashion, and amidst the glitter of profusion and 
splendour, or in the more undisguised forms of degrading 
vice. To the eye, however, all is decent and decorous, 
and the flood of light which, in the evening, throws a 
mimic day over the splendid arcades, would not lead the 
uninformed stranger to think of the orgies of darkness 
and guilt that may be going on around him ; for nothing 
is now tolerated by the police which can be regarded as 
revolting to the propriety of public manners. Yet the 
gaiety and cheerfulness that here seem to reign, are but 
the flimsy veil of moral deformity and corruption, like the 
deceitful calm of the sun-illumined ocean, whose insatiable 
and unseen depths are covered by a tranquil surface; but 
which has entombed its innumerable victims, and is still 
prepared to ingulf and to destroy. 

The vast massy pile of the Tuileries, a thousand feet in 
length, was begun, in 1654, by the profligate Catherine de 
Medicis, in the reign of her son Charles IX. This sump- 
tuous palace, the scene of so many changes, since its final 
completion in the luxurious reign of Louis XIV., derives 
its name from standing on the site of a tile-yard. Its mag- 
nitude gives it a grand effect, and it looks worthy to be 
the royal residence of the monarchs of France ; though 
there is a strange admixture of the Greek style with that 
of the chateau, as is seen in the heavy central roof, and 
the truncated pyramids at the sides, which do not har- 
monize with the circular arches and the pilasters of the 



GALLERY OF THE LOUVRE. 309 

facade. The magnificent garden is in the old style, adorn- 
ed with fountains, orange-trees, antique statues, and shady- 
groves, and is one of the most frequented public walks : 
here the French are quite at home, close under the win- 
dows of royalty, at all hours of the day, and have a 
thoroughfare through the palace itself. 

The Place du Carrousel, on the east side of the royal 
chateau, commemorates by its name a divertissement, 
given in 1662 by Louis XIV. ; so much of moment has 
there been attached to fetes, and amusements in France ! 
This vast area, which lies between the Tuileries and the 
Louvre, has been, from time to time, cleared of obstruct- 
ing buildings, and now fifteen or twenty thousand men can 
be reviewed within its space. Here, beyond the gilt lances 
which form the high grille of the palace-court, is the tri- 
umphal monument, erected in 1806 by Bonaparte, to the 
'glory of the French arms:' it is an imitation of the arch 
of Septimus Severus at Rome. This momento of the dis- 
astrous lustre of the sword, is rich in sculptured figures, 
though connoisseurs find fault with its general effect. 
When Bonaparte had trodden on the neck of Italy, and the 
spoils of Europe were crowded in the Louvre, the cele- 
brated bronze horses of St. Mark's church at Venice sur- 
mounted this arch. 

The Gallery of the Louvre, which is one of the most re- 
markable things in Paris, unites that palace with the Tuile- 
ries, stretching along the banks of the Seine, by a magnifi- 
cent facade, to the extent of full a quarter of a mile. 
Henry IV., and Louis XIV., both contributed to its com- 
pletion; and Bonaparte conceived the design of uniting 
the two palaces on the north side, by a range of building 
opposite the gallery, and in the same style, so as to form 
one immense parallelogram. This project has at present 
been but partially accomplished, and several streets still 
project into the ample Place du Carrousel ; but when the 
whole plan is realized, so vast a mass of palaces and gal- 
leries will be one of the wonders of the world. 

During the military dominion of Bonaparte, the Louvre 
was the depository of almost everything that was most 
exquisite in statuary and painting. Many of these chefs- 
(Vozuvre returned, after his fall, to their rightful owners ; 
but a fine collection of Btatues is still to be seen, though 
the Apollo, for three hundred years the pride of the Vati- 
can, the Venus — its rival in another style of ideal excel- 
lence — and other immortal sculptures, no longer adorn 
the magnificent halls of the ground-floor. The works of 
art are beautifully arranged; and many hours may be 
spent among antique creations of the chisel) tablets which 



310 PARIS. 

carry you back to Athens, and the times of the iMopon* 
nesian war; bas-reliefs of the Pagan rites and festivals; 
fragments of temples — to show what Greece once was 2 
the urns, the cippi, and the sarcophagi of the Greek and 
Roman dead — engraven by those who knew not of im- 
mortality ! with emblems of no greater sacredness than 
Sileni, Fauns, and Bacchantes, blended together in drunken 
riot. The Gallery astonishes by the novelty of the per- 
spective produced by so unusual a length, and is covered 
on both sides, with a profusion of paintings, ancient and 
modern, of the French, Flemish, and Italian schools, some 
by the most eminent masters. 

The palace of the Louvre itself, which is quite indepen- 
dent of the gallery, is regarded as the most beautiful in 
France. The effect of the inner court, of four hundred 
feet square, is exquisite; and the harmony and symmetry 
of this elegant quadrangle of Grecian architecture, are at 
once felt by every stranger. The colonnade^ or eastern 
fayade, is the admiration of Europe; and the whole is a 
costly and superb monument of the splendid reign of the 
Grand Monarque. One of the most pleasing sights in 
Paris is the Exposition des Fruits de V Industrie Frangaise. 
On a former visit, an opportunity occurred of seeing this 
biennial exhibition, which was shown under a temporary 
erection surrounding the quadrangle of the Louvre, and 
containing an immense collection of the most remarkable 
specimens of French ingenuity and skill, in the mechanic, 
and manufacturing arts. 

The localities of these two gorgeous palaces, are asso- 
ciated with events the most momentous, and appalling in 
the French history. What scenes of corruption, and pro- 
fligacy and slaughter, have not here darkened the glory 
and the chivalry of France ! What memorials are these 
edifices — of the luxury, the rapacity, and the uncontrolled 
power of her princes, and of the terrible retribution that 
came at last! Catherine de Medicis rewarded Delorme, 
the architect of the Tuileries, by giving him two abbeys, 
though he was not bred an ecclesiastic ! Here, in 1791, 
the unhappy Louis XVI. was no longer his own master, 
and this splendid palace became his prison-house, from 
which he and the royal family were glad to make their es= 
cape in disguise, only to be brought back to greater hu- 
miliation and woe : and here was acted the dreadful scene 
of the 10th of August 1792, when the palace, and all its 
precincts, were one frightful arena of massacre and car- 
nage, and the staircases and ballustrades were choked up 
with naked carcases, while the flames, at midnight, threw 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 311 

their terrific glare over the ghastly dead, and the yet pal- 
pitating bodies of the mangled living ! 

In one of the splendid halls of this palace, after the 
king's death, sat the Convention, which had condemned 
him ; and here, under the influence of a lawless mob, and 
an infatuated ambition, the party prevailed who ruled 
France by the guillotine. In these gardens, on the 20th 
Prairial,* Robespierre celebrated the Fete de HEtre Su- 
preme, the infidel orgies of which, were but the prelude of 
the speedy fall of this detestable tyrant, on the 9th Ther- 
midor.f 

The 13th Vindemiaire,t desolated the chateau and gar- 
den of the Tuileries, more than any former tumult ; the 
whole neighbourhood was the scene of murderous conflict 
between the royalists, and the troops of the Convention 
under Bonaparte ; and the palace once more flowed with 
blood. Again, on the 18th Fructidor,§ the two parties of 
the directorial government were on the verge of producing 
another sanguinary revolution, when the cannon of Gene- 
ral Augereau occupied the garden, and threatened to bom- 
bard the chateau. What changes has not the Tuileries 
since seen ! Bonaparte's iron domination, the Consulate, 
the Empire, the Restoration, the Hundred Days, the second 
Restoration, the Revolution of 1830, the throne of the Bar- 
ricades ! It is scarcely possible not to feel a tumult of 
strange and mournful emotions mingling with the view of 
this massy pile, the emblem of the greatness, and the re- 
verses, of the French monarchs ! 

If the Louvre recalls associations of its own, they are 
not less tragical. In the halls of this palace, as it existed 
in 1572, the treacherous and diabolical massacre of the 
Protestants was planned, by the infamous Catherine de 
Medicis, and her son Charles IX. — whose misery it was 
to have such a mother ! Most of the Huguenot lords and 
gentry had been inveigled to Paris, on pretence of an in- 
vitation to be present in the Louvre, at the marriage fes- 
tivities of the ting's sister and Henry of Navarre, a Pro- 
testant prince — a union which seemed to promise much 
for France — long distracted by religious wars. The cold- 
blooded perfidy, and fiendlike determination, with which 
this conspiracy was carried on, is almost incredible ; and 
it is difficult to account for the insensibility of the Protes- 
tants to the warnings which portended their danger. The 
worthy Admiral Coligny fell the first victim. On the 24th 
of August, the arrival of the Sabbath morning was un- 

♦ 8th June, 1794. t 27th July. t4th October. 1795, 

5 4th September, 1797. 



312 PARIS. 

nounced by the tocsin sounding from the steeple of the 
neighbouring church of St. Germain PAuxerrois, the signal 
for entering on the pre concerted and well-arranged work 
of massacre, which was general for three days, and did 
not wholly cease for nearly a week ! 

The Louvre was one of the scenes of blood : Henry, 
the royal bridegroom, and the Prince of Conde only es- 
caped death by agreeing to go to mass ; and their atten- 
dants were butchered : all Paris was one great slaughter- 
house ; Charles himself assisted in the orgies of destruc- 
tion, firing from a window upon the Huguenots, and 
impatient of the delay occasioned by the loading of the 
carbines that were handed to him. The Seine, the streets, 
the courts, and houses, presented one disgusting and in- 
human spectacle of assassination. At least ten thousand 
persons, of all ages, and of both sexes, are computed to 
have perished in Paris alone;* and, in the provinces, 
twenty thousand more! The ambition of ruling without 
control appears to have been the main impulse of the 
queen-mother, in being the prime mover in this infernal 
scheme ; and this demon, in the shape of woman, exhibited 
the strange combination of a mind enslaved by astrologi- 
cal superstitions, and a heart fearlessly daring in un- 
bounded crime, alike restless of restraints, human and 
divine. This example of atrocity is an awful illustration 
of the ultimate consequences of mixing up religion with 
politics, and of identifying with the struggles of ambition 
and of power, an element which has only to do with this 
world at all, as an inward moderator, and an antagonist 
force to all evil passions. 

The Rue St. Honore is the Cheapside of Paris: and to 
the west of it, are some of the finest parts of the metropo- 
lis ; as the Rue Rivoli, along the north side of the garden 
of the Tuileries, the Rue Castiglione, the arcades of which 
lead to the Place Vendome, the handsomest square in Paris, 
surrounded by uniform houses, and adorned in the centre 
with an elaborately-wrought and lofty column, after the 
model of Trajan's pillar. This monument, which is one 
hundred and forty feet in height, was erected by Napoleon, 
to commemorate the campaign of 1805. The stone shaft 
is covered with plates, cast from the cannon taken from 
the Austrian s, and represents the battles; and the whole 
has the effect of bronze. The Rue de la Paix, a short but 
very elegant street, leads from this square to the Boule- 
vards. 

* Peter Ramus, the opponent of Aristotle, and one of the most en- 
lightened men of his time, was among the number, 



HOTEL DES INVALIDES. 313 

Nothing can be conceived more imposing than the views 
in the immediate suburbs of the city, on the western side. 
The garden of the Tuileries, with its terraces, its foliage, 
its orange-trees, its piece of water, and its walks, contri- 
butes its effect in giving to Paris a luxurious air ; while the 
taste of the people for an out door life lends to it the aspect 
of a more southern city, and the vast variety which it ex- 
hibits make it not the representative of France only, but 
of Europe. The gates of the garden open into the great 
area of the Place Louis XV., the spot in which the unfor- 
tunate Louis XVI., his consort, and his sister, met their 
fate. 

This is decidedly the most magnificent part of Paris: 
on one side is the stately royal palace, with its princely 
gardens : opposite are stretched out the extensive Champs 
Elysees, their foliage inviting the pedestrian lounger to 
seek the shade, and the long, broad, central avenue de 
Neuilly, animated with the motion of horses and various 
vehicles ; while, on a gentle ascent, where the vista termi- 
nates, at the distance of a mile, the most superb public 
monument of the French capital rears its vast, massy 
arch, in imperial and dusky grandeur, relieved on both 
sides by the dark shadows of the adjacent trees. This 
edifice, which is near the Barreire de l'Etoile, is called the 
Arc de Triomphe, and was commenced by Napoleon in 
1806. The avenue of trees continues to a great distance 
beyond the arch, forming the road to St. Germain ; and 
the entrance to Paris, on this side, is probably unrivalled 
for grandeur in Europe. 

As you stand in the Place Louis XF., with this magnifi- 
cent coup-oVceil before you, on the right, at the extremity 
of the Rue Roy ale, is the exquisitely chaste and beautiful 
edifice, the Eglise de la Madeleine, looking, for whiteness, 
like a temple of alabaster. In the same direction, and 
forming the northern side of the area, runs one of the 
handsomest ranges of building in Paris. On the opposite 
side, is the statue-crowned bridge of Louis XVI., and, 
across the river, is seen the classic front of the Palais 
Bourbon, the French House of Commons, while in the 
back-ground, rises the elegant and aspiring dome of the 
Hotel des Invalides. 

One of our visits was to this immense building, the 
Chelsea Hospital of France. It is an asylum for four or 
five thousand old soldiers, and is situated near the Ecole 
Militaire, and the Champ de Mars, a vast area, celebrated 
in most of the popular movements; and which recalled 
especially the assembly of the 'hundred days.' The Hotel 
des Intalides, founded by Louis XIV., cannot fail to strike 

vol. vi. 27 



314 PARIS. 

every beholder with surprise and admiration, so vast is 
its scale, and so well is it adapted to the purpose for which 
it is designed. The extent of the galleries gives an effect 
to the interior, which well harmonizes with its plainness. 
The library was instituted by the Emperor, for the advan- 
tage of the pensioners, a number of whom we saw read- 
ing — and these veterans appeared as much at home in 
their great mansion, and in their library, as though these 
had been their patrimony. Napoleon has everywhere left 
the impress of his greatness, and of his knowledge of 
mankind ; and had it not been for his insatiable ambition, 
he might have been the greatest benefactor of France, and 
have spared to the inmates of the Invalides, the page in 
his history which tells of Spain, and Moscow, and Leipsic, 
and Waterloo. 

The chapel of the Invalides, surmounted by the dome, 
is one of the most splendid and costly monuments of the 
magnificence of the reign of Louis XIV., a magnificence, 
however, over which imagination always fancies the first 
prophetic shadows of the future revolution to hang. The 
interior of the chapel is adorned with the trophies of war, 
taken from the European nations, and, among the rest, 
some from the English. When the allied armies ap- 
proached Paris, in 1814, the old soldiers who gloried in 
beholding the standards which they had won, under Na- 
poleon, from the Austrians, destroyed a number of them, 
lest they should fall into the hands of their enemies. You 
may enter this church many times, and not see a single 
individual at private devotion, which is seldom the case 
in other churches ; but Bonaparte's soldiers were not 
likely to gain the habit of looking on their religious cere- 
monies as much more than an appendage to the glory of 
arms. 

The churches in Paris are numerous ; and several of 
them are much admired. Notre Dame, the cathedral, is 
interesting from its ancient associations, having been 
originally founded by the Merovingian kings, and marking 
the locality of the previous pagan worship of the Roman 
times. The present structure dates from 1160, and has a 
venerable appearance, remarkably contrasted with the 
airy elegance of many of the modern buildings of the city. 
Its two flat and stunted towers, rear themselves in massy 
gloom, over the gay and busy population, and seem to 
point back to a more solemn age, as the stern chroniclers 
of bygone years. The interior is spacious, but not so 
striking as some of the Belgian churches. 

The church of St. Boch, a locality of the sanguinary 
scenes of the 13th Vindemiaire, is remarkable for the 



THE PANTHEON. 315 

splendour of its decorations, and the arrangement of its 
altars, one behind another, which give it a theatrical ef- 
fect. We happened to be present during the solemniza- 
tion of an annual fete, and a ' procession of the true cross." 
A very small crucifix, under glass, let into a large cross, 
was carried round the church with great pomp, the pro- 
cession halting at several stations adorned with pictures 
representing the life and sufferings of Christ : each picture 
was honoured with throws of incense, and with bows ; the 
whole affair partook largely of the ludicrous ; but popery 
still rears its head, with its caps and bells, in the infidel 
city, and the church was thronged, chiefly with women. 
A marriage, in the meantime, was taking place at one of 
the altars : the ceremony was very long, and at one part 
of it a canopy was held over the pair, whose numerous 
friends formed a separate congregation, for the multitude 
were too intent on the celebration of the fete to indulge 
their curiosity. 

The church of St. Etienne du Mont is remarkable for 
the lightness and singularity of its architecture, and for 
the monuments of Pascal and Racine. Here also is the 
tomb of St. Genevieve, the tutelar saint of Paris, before 
which candles were burning, and devotees kneeling. She 
died in 512. St. Sulpice is one of the finest churches. It 
is *of modern date, and is a bold and magnificent struc- 
ture, both within and without. The grand Doric and Ionic 
portico has an imposing effect, but the two towers are 
studiously different from each other, in style and in height, 
a sacrifice of uniformity to variety, which is not very 
pleasing to the eye. The architecture of the great church 
of St. Eustache exhibits a singular mixture of Greek orna- 
ments with a barbaric style. 

The Pantheon has proved, by the changes of its appro- 
priation, a sort of index of the times. It was erected by 
Louis XV., as the new church of St. Genevieve. The 
Constituent Assembly transformed it into a general mau- 
soleum for great men, and for many years, the frieze of 
its noble portico, which is an imitation of that of the Pan- 
theon at Rome, bore the inscription Aux Grands Homines, 
La Patrie Reconnoissante. After the restoration, it was 
re-consecrated, and the smoke of incense again ascended 
beneath its lofty dome, amid the pomp of the Romisli wor- 
ship. Under the Citizen- King it is once more a superb 
mausoleum. The plan of this grand and majestic temple, 
is a Greek cross, and its general appearance something 
like that of St. Paul's in miniature. The dome of this 
edifice, and that of the Invalides, rise dominant over all 
the other buildings in Paris. In the vaults below the Pan- 



316 THE LUXEMBOURG. 

theon, are many small apartments filled with tombs, which 
are shown by candle-light, and a train of solemn emotions 
is excited, while the guide points to the names of those, 
celebrated in the great revolution, or in the annals of in- 
fidelity, or in the armies of Napolean, whose bodies, in the 
awful silence of these catacombs, so contrasted with the 
scenes in which many of them once mingled, await the 
dread summons of the archangel! 

There are several public cemeteries in Paris, besides 
the celebrated one of Pere-la- Chaise. This vast deposito- 
ry of mortality, contained, ten years ago, upwards of 
twenty-five thousand tombs. It is situated on a rising 
ground, without the wall, on the east, commanding one of 
the finest views of the domes and towers of this magnifi- 
cent city, whose population it will one day rival. Amidst 
foliage, and on ground undulated in various directions, 
are scattered the memorials of the dead, from the humble 
grave, with its plain slab, and single chaplet of amaranth, 
perpetually renewed by bereaved affection, to the splendid 
mausoleum, which tells what grandeur and honours its 
tenants had to leave for the narrow house appointed for 
all living! Urns, pyramids, obelisks, little chapels of 
Grecian, and of Gothic architecture, and solid massy se- 
pulchres, are crowded together on every hand ; and in the 
central part is a chapel for the funeral rites of the Romish 
church. Many of the tombs are inscribed with the most 
touching memorials of sorrow,* and the characteristic ar- 
dour of the people may in some measure be seen, in the 
expressions of grief which may be found in this populous 
grave-yard. The new-made widow, and the orphan child, 
may be seen renovating the amaranth, which adorns many 
of the tombs, in the form of a chaplet, a heart, or a cross ; 
and the whole is a deeply-impressive scene. 

The Luxembourg, and the Palais Bourbon, are the loca- 
lities of the French legislature. The garden of the former 
is one of the most delightful and frequented walks of the 
capital ; and this chaste and beautiful palace is adorned 

* The following are examples : 

{ Ci-git. l I^i repose. 

***** ***** 

Au meilleur des Fils, Repose en paix, ombre cherie, 

Par la plus malheureuse, Les larmes de ton Epoux, et eelles 

Et la plus tendre des Meres, de ta Familie 

Toujours inconsolable ! Couleront sur ta tombe, jusqu'au 

Et ses infortunes moment 

Sceur et Freres ! Ou ils viendront te rejoindre ! 

De Profundis. 



PARIS. 317 

With many fine paintings and sculptures, and contains, 
among other remarkable things, the handsome but small 
chamber of peers, of a semi-circular form : also the splen- 
didly adorned apartment of the foundress, Marie de 
Medicis, wife of Henry IV., and mother of Louis XIII. 
The Palais Bourbon, where the Deputies of France hold 
their sittings, is one of the greatest ornaments of the me- 
tropolis, having a broad, magnificent peristyle towards the 
Seine, adorned with twelve lofty Corinthian columns. The 
form of the Salle des Seances is similar to that of the 
chamber of peers, but the hall is larger, and is in a style of 
great elegance. 

The Hotel de Ville, and the Palais de Justice, are the 
seats of the civil and criminal administration. The latter 
is interesting as the ancient site of the Roman Prefecture, 
of the palace of some of the early kings, and of the Maires, 
there masters. Here is a small but beautiful ancient 
Gothic chapel, now used for records. So many of the 
large buildings in Paris are Palais, that even the Ex- 
change is called the Palais de la Bourse. It is an elegant, 
and classic edifice, and the ornamental paintings of the 
interior are much admired. On looking at this building, a 
Londoner can scarcely refrain from thinking how short a 
time it would retain its beautiful whiteness in the English 
metropolis. 

Paris possesses a great number of literary institutions : 
the oldest is the Universite Royale, long so celebrated 
throughout Europe, and comprising a number of colleges, 
In which is taught every branch of science and literature. 
The faculties of science, letters, and Theology, are united 
at the ancient Sorbonne, originally founded in 1253, by 
Sorbon, chaplain of St. Louis,* and rebuilt by Cardinal 
Richelieu in 1629. The faculties of law, and of medicine, 
give their lectures at two other separate establishments in 
the neighbourhood. The Bibliothcque du Roi, in the Rue 
Richelieu, is the largest library in Paris, and is probably 
unrivalled in the world, containing more than 400,000 
volumes. 

The spacious grounds called the Jardin du Roi, or Des 
Plantes, are the grand locality of the general science of 
nature, whore all the stores of the vegetable, animal, and 
mineral kingdoms, are open to the inspection, alike of 
the scientific student, and the passing visitor, and where 
Daubenton found occupation for fifty years in the study of 
nature. 

To an English eye, several of the numerous Fountains 

* Louis IX. 

27* 



318 PARIS. 

in Paris have a very novel effect ; and the abundance and 
tasteful disposition of their waters, and the elegance and 
beauty of their structures, give to some parts of the city 
an air of luxury and southern grandeur, which is not al- 
ways sustained by the localities in which these jets oVeaux 
are situated. The numerous passages, or galeries, which 
are imitated in minature, in Burlington and Lowther 
Arcades, also form a remarkable feature of this city of 
varieties, especially when the motley crowds press through 
these brilliantly illuminated bazaars in the evening. A 
different impression is felt by the stranger, as he gazes on 
the proud, historical trophies, raised by the Parisians to 
their magnificent monarch, in the triumphal arches called 
the Porte St. Denis, and the Porte St. Martin, erected 
within two years of each other, and inscribed Ludovico 
Magno. 

The numerous Marches, and Holies, cannot fail to at- 
tract notice. Many of the former are very spacious and 
commodious, and are adorned with fountains. The Halle 
au Bl strikes the eye by its large cupola ; and near it is 
the Colonne de Medicis, or the celebrated pillar, which the 
wicked and superstitious Catherine de Medicis erected, in 
1572, for the purposes of astrology. The vast entrepot call- 
ed the Halle aux Vins, is a magnificent monument of the 
reign of Bonaparte. 

The Abattoirs, or slaughter-houses, remove from the 
crowded parts of the city all the annoyances attendant 
on the killing of animals : the Abattoire Montmartre, is 
one of the most considerable, where sheep, oxen and calves, 
to the amount of some thousands, are slaughtered every 
week. 

The most interesting manufactories to visit, are that of 
the Gobelin tapestry, in which natural objects, and histo- 
rical pieces, are exquisitely wrought, on a web of silk, or 
worsted ; and the Manufacture Roy ale des Glaces, where 
mirrors of the largest and most splendid description are 
made. But the remarkable localities of this city, the em- 
porium of taste, the seat of French literature, and science: 
its libraries and museums, its hospitals, palaces, and 
churches, its squares, walks, triumphal arches, fountains, 
gardens, markets, gorgeous coffee-houses, and taverns, not 
to speak of its places of gay and thoughtless amusement, 
are innumerable. It may be added that strangers meet 
with little difficulty in getting access to most of the pub- 
lic curiosities, as it is generally sufficient to show a pass- 
port.* 

* A few places require an express order from the government ; as, of 
late, those vast domains of mortality, the Catacombes. In Paris the 



PARIS, 319 

On the Boulevards, we observed the impression which 
the balls of the c infernal machine' had left on the trees 
near the Cafe Turc, and on the wall of its garden. This 
diabolical device of Fieschi to destroy the King and the 
royal princes, and the havoc which was made of human 
life, appeared to have excited the universal horror so foul 
a deed deserved, which might have thrown France, in a 
moment, into confusion and anarchy. An attempt, in some 
respects similar, was made, at the corner of the Rue 
Nicaise, to assassinate Bonaparte when first Consul, by 
means of a barrel of gunpowder, then called la machine 
infernal. 

Several parts of Paris still bear traces of the Revolution 
of 1830. We noticed, particularly in the Champ de Mars, 
and at the Louvre, that certain spots were marked, as 
being the places of the fall, and of the burial, of some of 
the active agents in the conflict. The Louvre was one of 
the main points of attack during the memorable 'three 
days,' when the government, untaught by the awful les- 
sons of the past, again roused the people to take the re- 
dress of their wrongs and grievances into their own hands. 
The graves of those who fell at the Louvre, are under the 
facade, on the east side : the place was still adorned with 
evergreens and flags, showing how the memory of the 
dead, as martyrs to the liberties of France, is cherished 
by the Parisians. 

A restoration, after a revolution that has originated 
from within, is always a political experiment of great dif- 
ficulty, and is seldom favourable to freedom. The people 
have changed, the elements to be governed are no longer 
the same ; but the princes of the dynasty are apt to cling 
to their ancient ideas, and are anxious to reign with the 
prerogatives of their forefathers, though more than ordi- 
nary tact is necessary, in order to discern the temper of 
the times, to allay suspicions, fears, and jealousies, to har- 
monize opposing interests, and to carry the national 
mind along with "the government, in the maintenance of 
authority. 

Rarely did prince undertake a less enviable task than 
that which fell to the lot of Louis XV1IL, when, in the 
spring of 1814, after twenty- three years of exile, he trod 

passport was still required, but the practice of registration was not 
enforced, which we had met with in Belgium, Germany, and S* ita- 

erland, compelling every male traveller, immediately on his arrival 
in a town, to wriie in a government book, his name, birth-place, the 
place he last left, and his next destination. 



320 CAUSES OF THE 

over the spoils of his country, to ascend the throne of* his 
ancestors, under the auspices of the European armies* 
The concussion produced by the fall of Bonaparte, had 
loosened the bond Which, during his reign, had held the 
heterogeneous materials of society together, and they had 
now become a mass of disorganized elements. There 
were the imperialists of the late reign, and the royalists, 
and the republicans of 1789, a new and an old nobility, 
with clashing claims, and a clergy eagerly seeking all their 
ancient ascendency. Multitudes were weary of wars, and 
conscriptions, and a military despotism, the glory of which 
had departed, and they wished for some salutary change. 
This feeling was cherished widely among the agricultura- 
lists ; but their hopes were mingled with apprehension and 
anxiety, especially in the case of the landed proprietors. 
Many were to be found, of the manufacturing and com- 
mercial part of the nation, who were willing to believe that 
the restoration was likely to prove favourable to their in- 
terests, and, excepting those who viewed the change poli- 
tically as decided royalists, they welcomed it, probably, 
more than any other class. 

Those whose attachment to the ancient regime had now 
the opportunity of displaying itself, saw in the dignified 
smiles of Louis, and the grace of the Comte d'Artois,* the 
return of the old court, and the promise of basking, as in 
days that were gone by, in the sunshine of the royal 
favour. But the military were chagrined, and the pride of 
the nation was wounded, to see the glory of the French 
arms trampled on, by the victorious legions of the allies, 
and while their 300,000 bayonets escorted Louis to his 
throne, he became identified with the defeat and humilia- 
tion or France. 

The court, and the emigants in general, consisted of 
those who had become strangers to their country, and were 
aliens, as much from her politics as from her soil, pos- 
sessing no sympathy with the progress of her public 
mind. France was not the France she had been before 
the Revolution, the style of the Bourbon rule was obsolete, 
and a monarch, like Louis XVIIL, destitute of firmness, 
deficient in energy, and of a temporizing policy, who 
seemed more intent on avoiding present inconveniences, 
than on adopting a comprehensive and uniform scheme of 
government, was not likely to merge, in the support of his 
dynasty, the different factions of the new and the old re- 
gime, and, in ten years, to hand down a sceptre powerful 
enough in itself to repress, by its own weight, the latent 

* Afterwards Charles X. 



REVOLUTION OF 1830. 321 

elements of confusion, or to compensate in any measure 
for the want of skill in him who should next attempt to 
wield it. 

A throne was to be consolidated on the wreck of that 
mighty one, which, though it had reared itself into a super- 
structure of the most towering and colossal despotism, 
had nevertheless been deeply based in the chaos left be- 
hind by the sweeping disorganizations and desolations of 
the revolution. The extraordinary genius of the archi- 
tect of that throne had enabled him, by an easy transition, 
to combine into one fabric, the republic and the empire, 
and had erected an absolute dominion, not of legitimacy, 
but of military glory, which enchanted the spirits that it 
subdued, and rendered them its willing slaves, by enlist- 
ing the national vanity on its side. It was now too late 
for mere legitimacy to be a sufficient prop to power-, and 
he who would be the restorer of the throne of the Capets, 
must remodel it with new materials, and not endeavour to 
reconstruct it on the ancient plan, from the fragments into 
which it had been shattered, by the convulsions and the 
earthquakes that had overthrown it 

Louis did not succeed to the sceptre of his ancestors ; 
he succeeded to the revolution, to Bonaparte, to the 
throne of new France: but there was a party who looked 
for the return of feudalism, and the old Bourbon system, 
the divine right and holy anointing of kings, the antique 
state and exclusiveness of the court, and the ghostly and 
mysterious dominion of the clergy: all this was scarcely 
less reasonable than it would have been, for the post-dilu- 
vian family to have expected to find the surface of the 
earth unchanged by the waters of the deluge. The ultra- 
royalist party gained ground during the reign of Louis 
XVIII., and the reaction on the people was, a strenuous 
liberalism, which, under the wrong-headed Charles X., 
came into direct collision with the government, and the 
Bourbon power was at once laid prostrate in the dust. 

The theory of legitimacy, given forth to the world by 
the Congress of Vienna, was calculated at once to delude 
the returning dynasty with false images of its own posi- 
tion, and to provoke contempt among the people, by its 
absurd inconsistency. For the inference to be drawn from 
its doctrines was, that there had been no radical change 
in men's minds, that the revolution, and the career of Bo- 
naparte, which had been operating on the public mind for 
a quarter of a century, were to be regarded merely as an 
extinct rebellion; and that the Stupendous events, and 
mighty changos, of the Consulate, and the Empire, formed 
but an episode in the reign of Louis XVI1L, and were 



322 CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION OF 1830. 

now to be forgotten. Moreover, the very same theory 
which pronounced Bonaparte a usurper, acknowledged, 
as lawful sovereigns, several of the kings whom he had 
created. 

The Chart e Constitutionnelle itself, drawn up on the ac- 
cession of Louis, though proclaiming civil and religious 
liberty, the freedom of the press, equal rights, deliverance 
from the conscription, and no invidious exemptions from 
taxation, was, notwithstanding, ill-starred, and ill-omened 
in its birth. It was not a compact, as it ought to have 
been, between the head of the state, and the members ; it 
was studiously put forth as one of those documents said 
to be octroyes or granted, as a sovereign boon from the 
King.* It possessed also, with the general complexion of 
a limited monarchy, several of the features of despotism, 
inasmuch as it secured to the King alone the right of pro- 
posing a law, and of determining whether any amend- 
ment to it should be discussed : a wide door was found to 
be opened to practical abuse, in consequence of the mo- 
narch being intrusted with the establishment of ' regula- 
tions and ordinances necessary for the execution of the 
law, and the safety of the state : 5 the ministers also were 
entitled to speak in both chambers, solely in virtue of their 
office. 

It would have been surprising if the new order of things, 
so different, in its genius, and its origin, from any of the 
changes that had occurred since Louis XVI. sat on the 
throne, had been found to secrue the good will of all the 
incongruous parties which now formed the French nation. 
The censorship of the press was complained of by the 
republicans, as inconsistent with the freedom promised in 
the charter, and their alienation from the new government 
was increased. The Parisians were discontented with the 
police regulations, and the revival of the ancient forms 
and usages of the monarchy. The very agitation of the 
question relating to the property of the emigrants, excited 
apprehension among many, and the annuities granted to 
those whose estates had been sold, provoked the envy and 
jealousy of all, excepting the royalists themselves. Louis 
felt himself obliged to court the marshals and generals of 
Napoleon, but the soldiery were in the highest state of 
irritation, on finding their influence and their pay dimi- 
nished, and their corps disbanded and re-formed, while 
the badges of their glory, and the eagles of the Empire, 
were exchanged for the fieur de lis, which they had been 

* Nous avons accord6 et accordons, fait concession et octroi a, nos 
sujets etc. — Charle Constitutionnelle. 



CHAMBRB INTROUVABLE. 323 

taught to despise. The continuance of the imposts called 
droits reunis : on articles of consumption and convenience, 
produced serious discontents, as some pledge had been 
given that they should be taken off; which the condition 
of the finances, however, did not allow. 

In this state of things, Bonaparte re-appeared in France, 
on the 1st of March, 1815. There was no opposition to 
his progress, which rather resembled a triumph, than a 
daring adventure to regain a lost throne. Some of the 
marshals were passive: Massena appeared to connive, 
and even Soult, the minister at war, was suspected of 
doing the same : Ney came forward, and offered to take 
Bonaparte dead or alive, and, a few days afterwards, 
joined him, and proclaimed to his army that the Bourbons 
were unfit to reign. By the 20th of March, the Tuileries 
had again*changed masters, and the 'hundred days' com- 
menced. 

The army supported Bonaparte ; but the nation at large, 
wearied of expensive wars, and the conscription, had 
less confidence in him, and the liberal party, who were 
strong, compelled him to promise a Constitution of greater 
freedom than that of the Empire. The four great powers, 
England, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, combined once 
more to put an end to the sway of the great military chief, 
and agreed to raise more than half a million of men. The 
legions of the allies poured down on France, the battle of 
Waterloo decided the fate of Bonaparte, and Fouche was 
placed at the head of a provisional government; and now, 
Louis was once more sovereign of France, which had 
never been so prostrate since the days of Henry V. of 
England, and the battle of Agincourt. 

The French army that evacuated Paris retired sullenly 
to the banks of the Loire, and at length yielded a reluctant 
adhesion to Louis. While the result of the ' hundred days' 
gave another humiliating blow to the military influence 
which was an obstacle to constitutional government, it 
tended more than ever to weaken the confidence of the 
people in public men ; whose doubly violated oaths proved 
that interest rather than principle was their guide. The 
vast armies of the Allies occupied two thirds of the coun- 
try, which elsewhere was the scene of insurrection and 
bloodshed: but the ultimate effect of the whole was, a de- 
cided re-action in favour of ultra-royalism. 

The Chambre Introuvable* which met, In October, 1815, 
three months after the second return of Louis, granted to 

* The name given to the first Chamber of Deputies, after the se« 
cond restoration, on account of its anti-national character. 



324 RICHELIEU* 

the government the power of arbitrary imprisonment, 
without trial, and banished for ever from France, all who 
had taken part in the death of Louis XVI., or had accept- 
ed office under Bonaparte, after his return from Elba. Se- 
veral individuals were executed, numbers of judges and 
other functionaries were dismissed, and the royalists were 
in the complete possession of power. The violence of 
some of the ultras of this party, induced the prime mini- 
ster, the Duke de Richelieu, to dissolve the Chamber, and 
a more moderately royal one met in November, 1816. 
This change took place under the influence of Decazes, 
whose maxim was royaliser la nation, et nationaliser le 
royalisme. A new and more liberal law of election was 
passed, and the ultra-royalists lost ground in consequence 
of the discovery of their intrigues, in fomenting distur- 
bances at home, and seeking for influence abroad. 

By the end of 1818, the allied troops had evacuated 
France ; but Louis, the same year, joined the Holy Alli- 
ance, a scheme which originated in the tendency too com- 
mon among monarchs, to cling for support abroad, in 
order to enable themselves to maintain ideas of kingly 
power no longer suited to the state of their subjects, in- 
stead of finding their stability in the convictions of those 
for whose good alone they reign. Though the obsolete 
spirit of royalism was again reviving, and the Duke de 
Richelieu, the prime minister, declared against further 
popular freedom, and wished to check it by altering the 
law of election, Decazes triumphed in the Chamber, and 
liberal principles were maintained. 

Dessoles succeeded Richelieu, but his ministry was over- 
thrown in 1819, in consequence of not being able to main- 
tain itself between the extreme parties ; and Decazes was 
made premier of a ministry, not more harmonious in itself 
than the preceding. The assassination of the Duke de 
Berri, in 1820, roused violent clamours against the liberals, 
and produced great excitement between the two parties. 
Decazes, vilified by the ultra-royalists, and mistrusted by 
the liberals, resigned, and the Duke de Richelieu was 
again at the head of the government. 

The ministry of Dessoles had been conducted on the 
principle of maintaining the popular law of elections, and 
both Dessoles and Decazes were of the moderately royal 
party, and for the most part carried the King with them. 
Monsieur, soon destined to overturn his dynasty by his 
obstinacy and folly, was the patron of a more violent po- 
licy, and aimed at great influence over the government. 
Both of, Richelieu's administrations were attempts at me- 



de villele's administration. 325 

diating between the weakness and indecision of Louis, 
and the rashness of his brother. 

Richelieu's second ministry was embarrassed with the 
laws, left by their predecessors for discussion, respecting 
personal liberty, the journals, and the elections ; and now 
the absolutists prevailed ; and their influence soon became 
evident in the administration, whose power was fortified 
by the talents of de Serre, and afterwards of de Villele. 
Parties, however, had now become more subdivided, and 
there were not only the right and left, or the high and low 
parties, but also the right and left centres: the spirit of 
faction increased, and violent mobs were frequently as- 
sembled in Paris. In 1821, the ministers were unable to 
maintain themselves between the parties, a temporary 
coalition of which overthrew them, and de Villele became 
premier of the sixth administration. Strict royalism, 
which had already begun to gain the ascendency, was 
now triumphant ; and for several sessions, including two 
elections, the liberal party lost ground in the Chambers ; 
so that in 1824 they received the name of La Faction des 
Seize, in allusion to the leaders of the Fronde, the party 
who opposed the court and the minister Mazarin, in the 
minority of Louis XIV. 

During these sessions, the trial of all offences of the 
press was taken from the jury : the peers, in a spirit con- 
trary to the charter, resolved that no member of their 
House should be arrested on account of a civil suit: also 
the censorship of the public journals was renewed. Con- 
spiracies and insurrections occurred in various places ; 
there were some troubles in Paris ; and a kind of Carbo- 
nari* society was detected. The liberal party w T ere de- 
feated on the great question of the expedition into Spain, 
and 100,000 men were sent, in 1823, into that country, un- 
der the King's nephew, the Due d'Angoulcme, to suppress 
democracy. The campaign was successful, and the Bour- 
bons gained a triumph, both in France and Spain. The 
septennial act was carried ; but the proposal for reducing 
the interest on the public debt, to defray the charges of 
the war, was lost. Chateaubriand, who refused to defend 
the bill, was dismissed from the ministry, and in the Jour- 
nal des Debate^ he became a .strenuous opponent of de 
Villele's government. 

Louis XVIII. died in September, 1821. Though too va- 
cillating in his policy, he had prudence enough, so long as 
he was equal to the task, in some measure to moderate 

* The name of a large political, secret society iu Italy, who origi- 
nally called themselves Colliers. 

vol. vi. 23 



326 ACCESSION OF CHARLES X< 

the ultra-royalists ; but during the last years of his life, he 
yielded to the influence of his brother Charles, and of de 
Villcle. Previously to this, he wanted firmness to keep 
down the ascendancy of the fanatical party, who wished 
to put back the political time-piece, to the days of the old 
regime ; while proscriptions, and executions, and the 
massacres of the south, recalled the reign of terror, con- 
verted friends to enemies, and formed an indelible blot on 
the government, under whose sway they occurred. 

France was indebted to Decazes for many of those 
plans for the improvement of commerce, agriculture, ma- 
nufactures, and the mechanic arts, which marked the aera 
of the restoration ; during which period, the country was 
in a state of great physical prosperity. With this mini- 
ster, the chance of the continuance of the Bourbon dy- 
nasty fell. When he began to yield to an aristocratic al- 
teration in the existing popular law of election, and, in 
other respects, to recede from his former position, he ar- 
rayed against him Lafayette, and the liberals, and, at the 
same time, failed to conciliate Labourdonnaye, and the 
royalists, who looked on his measures with suspicion and 
contempt; while he forfeited the support of Foy, Con- 
stant, and the Doctrinaires. 

Charles X. ascended the throne with popularity, in some 
measure on account of his personal activity as compared 
with the late King, and his royal manners. His abolition 
of the censorship of the public journals, produced an en- 
thusiasm in his favour that was altogether remarkable ; 
but it was a momentary flash, which soon proved to be a 
delusive harbinger of prosperity : the spirit of the reign 
soon sealed the fate of the monarchy. The line of policy 
adopted by the King, and de Villele, gratified the aristo- 
cratical and theocratic party, while the government was 
becoming daily more unpopular. The bill for indemnify- 
ing the emigrants to the amount of nearly thirty millions 
sterling, and that for reducing the interest on stock, called 
forth loud condemnation. 

The ecclesiastical measures betrayed the bigotry of the 
priest-ridden monarch ; and, among these, a law of sacri- 
lege was passed, punishing the profanation of sacred 
places and utensils with death. Superstition increased ; 
processions were multiplied in the streets ; and the Ro- 
mish clergy, and the Jesuits, gained more influence than 
they had possessed since the times preceding the revolu- 
tion. The law relating to primogeniture, though thrown 
out by the peers, had been adopted by the deputies, and 
was regarded, by the nation, as an index of the wish of 
the government to found a new aristocracy, and to disturb 



DE MARTIGNAC's ADMINISTRATION. 327 

that legal equality of all, so dear to Frenchmen. The 
enormous expenses of the Spanish campaign, and the 
ill-concealed abuses which increased the amount, did not 
add to the popularity of the ministers. 

The royalists, and the Jesuit party, were now at more 
open war with the liberals, two of whose journals were 
prosecuted. The government became more and more 
alienated from the feelings of the people ; and the state of 
things in Portugal, South America, and Greece, augment- 
ed the excitement. The failure of the law to crush the 
freedom of the press, was followed by violent demonstra- 
tions of joy, illuminations, and riots attended with blood- 
shed. The national guard testified their feelings against 
the ministry, at a review of 45,000 men in the Champ de 
Mars, and the next morning they were disbanded. 

An ordonnance established a rigorous censorship of the 
press, which had been denied by the legislature, and this, 
the most obnoxious of all measures, was made to tell its 
own tale, by whole columns of the journals appearing 
blank. De Villele saw that the ministry was losing ground : 
he dissolved the Chamber, and seventy-six new peers were 
created. The elections were unfavourable to the ministry, 
and, in the rejoicings at Paris, fifty persons were killed by 
the gendarmes. 

The triumph of the liberals was followed by the resig- 
nation of de Villele, a man of talent, but not possessed of 
grasp enough for the crisis: a slave to circumstances, 
without a grand principle ; often acting contrary to his 
convictions, in order to obviate the difficulty of the mo- 
ment, or to avoid resigning ; and who drove the chariot of 
the monarchy to the verge of an abyss, from which it was 
scarcely possible for it to be recovered. 

De Martignac was at the head of the next ministry, in 
January 1828; and he appears to have been soon con- 
vinced that it was not in his power to save the throne. 
Most of the members of the administration had been sup- 
porters of de Villele ; but their measures were more mo- 
derate and liberal than his. They had to manage four or 
five different parties in the Chamber, besides the court. 
The liberal party carried, by a small majority, the inser- 
tion, in the address to the King, of the words systeme de- 
plorable, as applicable to de Villele's administration ; and 
after gaining strength by the informality of some of the 
elections, they proposed the impeachment of the late mi- 
nistry, charging Villele with 'high treason against the peo- 
ple,' with causing the Spanish war, the disbanding 01 the 
national guards, the support given to the Jesuits. and the 
Trappists, the creation of seventy-six peers, and with in 



328 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY. 

terfering in the elections. The impeachment fell to the 
ground, but it manifested the state of parties. The mini- 
sters conceded the dismissal of obnoxious prefets, more 
liberty to the press, and a law to regulate the jury, and the 
elections, the purity of which had been much corrupted 
by their predecessors. The ordinance which the King 
was obliged to grant, calculated to check the influence of 
the Jesuits, raised the hostility of the clergy, who pro- 
nounced it to be a conspiracy against religion ; but the 
Pope advised them to yield. 

The ministry were not cordially supported by the King, 
nor, on the other hand, had the cote gauche, or liberal side 
of the Chamber, sufficient confidence in them : hence they 
had no solid basis. The King thought they were too much 
influenced by popular opinion ; but, after de Villele's strong 
anti-popular measures, the concessions they made, ap- 
peared to the nation like an acknowledgment of the weak- 
ness of a government, which only gave what was wrung 
from it, instead of spontaneously devising liberal things.* 
The former administration had trodden on the extreme 
limit of authorized power, and this aggression had not 
overawed the liberal party: the concessions of the present 
administration were a kind of retreat, not a pacification. 
Hostility to the Bourbons was gaining ground, and there 
was an increasing impression that they could not stand. 

One of the most popular deeds of this ministry, was 
their determination not to remove, on accouut of political 
opinions, any of the officers who commanded the troops 
in the Morea, This declaration added to the displeasure 
of the ultra-royalists, while loud complaints were heard 
from the liberals, in consequence of a measure of a very 
different character ; the granting of pensions to peers 
whose income was less than 30,000 francs. At length, 
the ministry could command neither party, and Charles 
determined on the experiment of a decidedly royalist go- 
vernment. 

De Villele's ministry had been characterized as le min- 
ister e deplorable — that of de Martignac, as le minister e 
phraseologiste — and now, on the 8th of August, 1829, came 
le minister e impossible, composed of the Prince de Polig- 
nac, a bigotted Romanist, who was completely identified 
with the old regime, Labourdonnaye, a violent partisan of 
the cote droit, or aristocratical side of the Chamber, and 
other high royalists. The nation saw, in the King's choice, 

* How different a spirit actuated the framers of the English Reform 
Bill ! many persons of the most liberal politics were not more gratis 
fied, than surprised, at the extent and generosity of the plan. 



THE ORDONNANCES. 329 

open war with free institutions, and that the attempt to 
bring the monarchy into union with them was abandoned: 
hence the cry against the ministry was universal. Labour- 
donnaye soon resigned ; and, after various changes in the 
cabinet, de Polignac alone retained his place, to guide his 
new colleagues to the edge of that precipice over which 
they were about to plunge both themselves, and their in- 
fatuated sovereign. 

The King's speech, on the 2d of March, 1830, as remark- 
able for its graceful emphasis, as for its lofty spirit, caused 
an instant depression in the funds. The address of the 
Deputies was carried against the ministers, condemning 
their presumed line of policy, and respectfully warning the 
King, of the consequences of continuing in office an ad- 
ministration to which the nation was strongly hostile. 
Charles replied that his resolutions were fixed, and that 
his ministers would represent his views. The Chambers 
were immediately prorogued, and great excitement fol- 
lowed all over France, accompanied with a furious paper 
war. Associations were formed for printing pamphlets to 
oppose the government. The names of the majority who 
voted the address, were published in various forms, and to 
have been un des 221, was a badge of honour. The min- 
isters purified, as it was called, every branch of the ad- 
ministration, and many prcfets, and other offices, who were 
not sufficiently subservient, were dismissed, journalists 
were prosecuted, and the sale of snuff-boxes and other 
articles, inscribed c 221,' were prohibited. 

The anniversary of the entry of Charles X. into Paris, 
was celebrated with much pageantry, and the deluded 
monarch, and his ministers, were securely dreaming, 
amidst the full pomp of monarchy, on the brink of ruin. 
The Chamber of Deputies was dissolved, to re-assemble 
in August ; and the King sought to influence the elections, 
by a weak and ridiculous proclamation — while the minis- 
ters plied all the manoeuvres used by de Villcle, in 1824. 
The success of the French arms at Algiers, was known 
in Paris on the 9th of July; and amidst fetes, and Te 
Deums i and illuminations, the ministry seemed to think 
they saw the prelude to gaining a triumph over liberty at 
home, and some of their abettors broached this doctrine. 

De Polignac became more violent and determined, and 
at the s;mii' time more detested ■ while the priests enchain- 
ed the conscience of the monarch, and blinded his mental 
vision. The elections increased the opposition to two 
hundred and eighty votes. The ministers immediately 
concerted with the &ing to suspend the liberty of the press 
— and with the will, but without the talent for despotism, 
28* 



330 REVOLUTION OF 1830. 

they drew up a miserable state-paper, which attempted fa 
shield, by sophistry, what no reasoning could reconcile 
with the charter. The celebrated and fatal ordonnances, 
were issued on the 26th of July, one dissolved the Cham- 
ber, and consequently annulled all the elections ; a second 
entirely extinguished the freedom of the press ; and a third 
commanded a new and aristocratical law of election. 
Most of the liberal journalists determined that their papers 
should appear in spite of the ordonnances ; and their 
seizure, on the 27th of July, was the signal of revolution. 

Desperate conflicts now began, between the people and 
the soldiery 5 the Marseillaise Hymn, the song of the revo- 
lution, was on innumerable tongues ; and all Paris was in 
arms. The pavements, and public carriages, were convert- 
ed into barricades, across the streets and boulevards ; and, 
for three days, the contest was going on, in various parts 
of the city : in the mean time, Charles had fled, the tri- 
coloured flag waved over the royal palaces, and the Bour- 
bons had ceased to reign. 

Upwards of 3,000 individuals were killed, or wounded, 
during the progress of this revolution — another awful ex- 
ample of the consequences of attempting to maintain arbi- 
trary power, in opposition to the growth and developement 
of the national mind ! No crisis ever bore more completely 
the aspect of a struggle for principles. It was a moral 
revolution, like that of America, not a scene of anarchy 
and plunder among citizens, but of a people fighting for 
their liberties, against the instruments of arbitrary power. 

It is melancholy that so much blood must be shed, to 
teach princes that they can no longer hold their crowns as 
an independent patrimony, apart from the voice of those 
over whom they reign ! The proudest monarchs must be 
exiles from their thrones, to proclaim to all other poten- 
tates, that their power, and their grandeur, exist but for 
the good of the community : that hereditary government 
is but a form, in which the majesty of nations may be em- 
bodied most safely for themselves, and that when any 
legitimate ruler ceases to reign for the public weal, tram- 
ples on the sacred claims of freedom, and forgets the in- 
tersts of millions in his own will, the time is come for a 
higher power to utter forth its mandate, that kings may 
know that the source of all sovereignty, on earth, is in the 
people, before the indignant thunders of whose voice, no 
tyranny can stand. 



RELIGION IN FRANCE. 331 



LETTER XXIII. 

Religion in France — History of Protestantism — Persecutions — Pre- 
sent state of Protestantism — Institutions, and exertions — Toleration 
— Moral state of France — Infidelity — Romanism — Demoralization 
of the capital —Versailles — St. Cloud — Mont Calvaire— Ruel— St. 
Denis — Amiens. 

The entire population of France is estimated at 33,000,000, 
of whom only about a million and a-half are nominally- 
Protestant: the rest are Roman Catholics and unbelievers. 
Though, in the large towns, the majority of the men may 
with propriety be regarded as of an infidel character, the 
great body of the people are still, in a considerable degree, 
attached to the Romish religion. There has been a gra- 
dual re-action, of late years, in its favour, and this has no 
doubt been very much owing to the bitter experience 
which many thousands have had, of the effects of infidel- 
ity, and their ignorance of a system which can better meet 
the wants of the immortal spirit, and lay a more satisfac- 
tory foundation for human hope, than Romanism. 

The hierarchy and ecclesiastics consist of 14 arch- 
bishops, of whom two are also cardinals, 66 bishops, 174 
vicars-general, 680 canons, and 29,495 inferior clergy, 
making a total of 30,429. The amount which is to be paid 
from the treasury for their support, during the year 1836, 
is 33,976,600 francs, or 1,359,064 pounds sterling; and for 
1837, it is likely to be rather more than 34,000,000 of francs. 
The ministers of the established Protestant church are in 
number 596, of whom 366 are Reformed, and 230 Lutheran, 
the latter being chiefly confined to those parts of France 
which are adjacent to Germany. Each denomination has 
a Theological College, in which the candidates for the 
ministry are educated: that of the Reformed Church is at 
Montauban, and that of the Lutheran at Strasburg. The 
sum appropriated by the government for the maintenance 
of the Protestant worship, during the year 1837, is 856,000 
francs, or 34,210 pounds ; and it is probable that it will be 
increased, for the following year, to 890,000 francs, or 
35,600 pounds. 

The history of the Reformed religion in France, has 
been a truly mournful one. After the sanguinary wars of 
the League, the Huguenots obtainectlrom HenrylV., in 
lebrated Edict of Nantei^ which guaranteed 
their civil and religious liberties. The measures OfLouis 
XIII. again roused them to defend their rights by arms, 



332 PERSECUTIONS OF THE PROTESTANTS. 

and that monarch was compelled to confirm the Edict. 
During the greater part of the reign of Louis XIV., this 
engagement, which he, with his two predecessors, had de- 
clared to be perpetual, was shamefully broken; and at 
length the last semblance of legal protection was removed, 
by the formal revocation of the Edict, in 1685. This abo- 
lition of liberty of conscience, was followed by torture, 
and military executions, wholesale murders, the destruc- 
tion of the Protestant churches, and the flight of more than 
500,000 of the most virtuous and industrious of the citizens 
of France, from their native land. 

From this period, the Protestants were exposed to every 
kind of oppression; and during the reign of Louis XV., 
while religion was reviving in England, by means of the 
scope which freedom gave to the labours of Whitfield and 
Wesley, France was filling up the measure of her iniqui- 
ties, by adding, to the profligacy of her court, and the de- 
moralization of her people, the guilt of carrying on a fierce 
persecution against the best part of her population. The 
Protestants, whose only crime was their religion, were 
tracked and hunted from their caves and hiding places, by 
bloodhounds ; condemned to prisons and galleys ; sub- 
jected to various kinds of torture, with the loss of pro- 
perty and life ; and several of their ministers were publicly 
executed. 

It was not till the revolution was making rapid strides 
towards producing a universal change, that the Protes- 
tants obtained the first shadow of a civil existence, in 1787, 
through the agency of such men as Turgot, Malesherbes, 
and especially Lafayette — men who were among the best 
and most judicious friends of the unfortunate Louis XVI. 
But the Protestants were still without freedom : they ex- 
isted only on sufferance ; and they had much to receive 
from a new order of things, which, however, they were 
unjustly charged, as a body, with bringing about. Towards 
the close of 1789, the Romish clergy, many of whom had 
previously been the promoters of change, became alarmed 
for the property of the church, and the Protestants were 
made the scapegoats of the revolution. The massacres 
at Nismes, in 1790, and the dreadful re-action which at- 
tended them, were occasioned by the attempts of the fanati- 
cal partisans to produce a counter-revolution, in the south 
of France, on pretence of upholding the Romish re- 
ligion ; and the Commissioners appointed by the King and 
the National Assembly, in their report, entirely vindicated 
the Protestants from blame. 

The confusion and disorganization that ensued on the 
progress of the revolution, gave the fanatic party the op- 



STATE OF PROTESTANTISM IN FRANCE. 333 

portunity of occasionally renewing their attacks in the 
south of France, till the consolidation of power in the 
strong hand of Bonaparte restrained their fury ; and the 
Protestants, during his sway, enjoyed their civil rights. 
The Restoration found them honourably sustaining those 
relations to the State, to which they had been admitted 
from the beginning of the revolution ; but the proclama- 
tion which announced the return of the Bourbons, w T as the 
tocsin for the commencement of scenes which were not 
unworthy of the days of Charles IX., or of the assassina- 
tions and butcheries of the Jacobins, in the worst times of 
the revolution. The cruel outrages, and the treacherous 
and atrocious massacres, that took place at Nismes-, and 
in other parts of the department of the Gard* in 1814, 
1815, and 1816, by the agency of the partisans of the re- 
fugee priesthood, are a blot of infamy on the escutcheon 
of the Restoration which will never be effaced. During 
these years, and even to a later period, the Protestants 
were the victims of a ferocious bigotry and intolerance, 
under the mask of loyalty to the Bourbons ; and the go- 
vernment, if it did not connive at their sufferings, at least 
maintained a faithless and disgraceful indifference to them, 
notwithstanding the promises of the Charter. 

The revolution of 1830 secured to the Protestants all 
their rights, and placed them, in relation to the State, on 
the same footing as the Catholics. Provision has been 
made that, in the Royal and Communal Colleges, as well 
as in the Normal and Primary Schools, the children of 
Protestants may receive instruction in the religious faith 
of their parents ; which law protects them from the prose- 
lyting influence of the Catholic priesthood. This just and 
wise course of policy emanated from the King Louis 
Philippe himself, and M. Guizot, his late Minister of Public 
Instruction. 

During the latter part of the eighteenth century, the Pro- 

* Amidst cries of Vive le Rot, in the taverns and public places, the 
sanguinary persecutors were accustomed to sing, in the patios of the 
country, cannibal songs, in the chorus of which were the words— 
* We will mash our hands in the blood of the Protestants — we will make 
black-puddings of the blood of Calvin's children? 

Lavaren nostri mans 
Din lou sang di Proutestans. 
Duon sang dies eni'ans de Calvin 
Faren de boudin. 

See the History of the Persecutions of the Protieslants } by the Rev. 
Mark Wilks, who lias during many years employed himself for the- 
religious benefit of France. 



334 STATE OF PROTESTANTISM 

testant churches in France, like those in many other parts 
of the continent, declined greatly from the doctrines and 
piety of the Reformation ; but, for the last fifteen years, 
evangelical religion has been making gradual progress, 
and there are now many faithful and zealous ministers of 
the Gospel. 

Numerous institutions have been established, the object 
of which is to extend the kingdom of Christ: as the 
French and Foreign Bible Society ; which, during 1835, 
the second year of its existence, has distributed six or 
seven thousand copies of the Scriptures : the Protestant 
Bible Society ; which has circulated thousands of the same, 
for many years : the Paris Tract Society, which, in 1834, 
issued half a million of tracts : a Missionary Society, which 
supports nine labourers in South Africa: a Society for the 
Education of Poor Children, which has nearly 800, in its 
establishment in Paris : and the important and useful 
Evangelical Society, for promoting in France, the preach- 
ing of the Gospel, the dissemination of the Scriptures and 
religious books, the encouragement of pious schoolmas- 
ters, education for the ministry, and the building of 
chapels. 

Good is also attempted from without. The British and 
Foreign Bible Society maintains a large depository in 
Paris, from which, in 1835, upwards of 60,000 copies of the 
Scriptures were sent forth to benefit France. The Evan- 
gelical Society of Geneva employs several preachers, and 
about twenty colporteurs, who labour in the eastern depart- 
ments of the kingdom. The European Missionary Society 
has also ten or more agents in this wide field: and the 
Wesley an Missionary Society maintains thirteen or four- 
teen ministers, of whom five or six address English con- 
gregations in Paris, Boulogne, Calais, and other places; 
while others preach in French. 

So far as Ioav extends, toleration, or rather religious 
liberty, is enjoyed in France; but the efforts which are 
made, to promote evangelical religion, are still liable to 
vexatious hindrances. A law exists, directed against se- 
ditious publications, which prohibits the sale or distribu- 
tion of pamphlets, tracts, and the like, but has been ex- 
plained, by ordonnance, not to include Bibles; yet the 
subordinate officers of the police sometimes give trouble 
to Bible-agents. Religious tracts cannot be safely dis- 
tributed without a written license from the Prefet of a de- 
partment, or other officer ; and when he happens to be 
either ignorant or bigotted, the license is difficult to obtain. 
Redress indeed, in case of grievance, can always be found 
by applying to the government; but this cannot be done 



IN FRANCE. 335 

without trouble and delay. By the Charter of 1830, a per- 
fect freedom of worship is secured to all ; but an old un- 
repealed law, which forbids an assembly of more than 
twenty persons, without permission from the magistrates, 
is sometimes annoyingly brought forward to contravene 
the Charter. It will require time to drill the local agents, 
the Prefets, and Sous-Prefets, who are often under priestly 
influence, into those just sentiments on this subject, which 
characterize the government: but those who have the 
best means of judging, think there is much in this country 
to encourage the highest anticipations of Christians.* 

The influence which France has exercised on all the 
surrounding nations, renders its moral and religious state, 
not only a topic of local, but of European interest. The 
unbelief which has so widely prevailed, has gone hand in 
hand with a false philosophy, flattering to the national 
vanity, an extreme corruption of manners, and a despised 
and palsied system of superstition, which haunted the im- 
agination, when it did not restrain the conduct. The in- 
fidelity of France is eminently that of the heart, which has 
rejected God, for the idolatry of the passions. 

The authority of the philosophers has been greatly 
weakened, in all reflecting minds ; and the unbelief of the 
encyclopaedists, has been found to have no real basis, in 
those sciences which it was wont to boast of as the foun- 
dation of its speculations. An enlarged and advanced 
system of knowledge has brought no incense to the flimsy 
sophistry of the school of Voltaire, and his kindred band 
of virtual atheists. Infidelity and materialism have been 
felt, by many, to be too cold an abstraction, and connect- 
ed with too gloomy prospects, to lay a firm hold on the 
mind. Some of the events of the political world, which 
have swept over France like a destructive whirlwind, have 
taught awful lessons of the miseries and horrors, which 
desolate a nation when the passions of men once break 
loose, unrestrained by moral principle, and the sanctions 
of religion ! 

These and similar considerations, have been forced on 
the attention of thousands ; and however sunk in apathy 
to religion, or in moral corruption, are millions of the 
French, it may be hoped that infidelity has passed the 
zenith of its pride and glory. It has indeed descended in 
the scale of society, where it may still be found boldly 
rearing its head ; but men of politics, and literature, and 

* For those of the above statements which relate to the present 
aspect of Protestantism in France, and for some valuable facts of the 
same kind in regard to Belgium, and Switzerland, the author is in- 
debted to his esteemed friend the Rev. Robert Baird, of Paris. 



336 MORAL STATE 

taste, are no longer, as they were half a century ago, in 
the foreground of unbelief, as the loudest claimants of the 
character of esprits forts. Religion, of some kind, has 
been felt to be necessary ; and since the late revolution, 
there has been a change in favour of Romanism, a very 
considerable increase having taken place in the attendance 
on the Catholic worship, particularly among the superior 
classes of society. The withholding of political power 
from the clergy, which has rendered the Revolution of 
1830, so obnoxious to them, has been coeval with an in- 
crease in their real influence, and the result has been very 
far from showing that even a deeply erroneous and cor- 
rupt religion must c lift its mitred front in courts and par- 
liaments,' in order to gain an ascendency over the public 
mind. 

The religious liberty, also, which it is the aim of the 
new government to secure, has, in some cases, left room 
for the spontaneous offer of homage to a ceremonial, 
which lofty spirits, not wholly subdued by superstition, 
disdained to pay, till they could yield it unbought, when it 
was no longer, as in the case of our own disgraceful Test 
Act, a moral prostitution for the sake of place and honour. 
It is true indeed that Romanism has hitherto been the 
chief gainer by what infidelity has lost ; but we must look 
at the effect of religious liberty on the grand scale. The 
advantages that will result from leaving religion to itself, 
to fight its own battles, are becoming every day more ap- 
parent in France. It is in this way alone, that the friends 
of the gospel will be enabled to obtain legitimate and un- 
tarnished victories, over a sentimental superstition on the 
one hand, and a turbulent and democratic atheism on the 
other. Not long ago, a mistaken suspicion of collusion 
between the Romish clergy and the government, to restrain 
the licentiousness of the press, at once opened anew the 
brazen mouths of infidelity, to vent their rage and venom 
against Christianity itself. 

The irreligion, unbelief, and vice of Paris, have long 
been a theme of sorrow to the Christian philanthropist, 
and a master element of social disorder and misery to the 
nation. The trite remark that c Paris is France,' is scarce- 
ly less true of its moral influence over the country, than of 
its political importance. While the revolutions which have 
occurred in the capital, have quickly extended themselves 
to the Jura and the Pyranees, the Belgic border and the 
ocean, the opinions and the manners, the literature and the 
habits, which are diffused through France, in the great 
towns, acknowledge Paris as their grand source. It has 
unquestionably the full influence of a great metropolis ; 



OF PARIS. 337 

and its own population, of nearly 800,000 souls, gives to it 
a momentous moral interest. The demoralizing practice 
of gaming is one of the most prominent evils in this vast 
city ; and the precious time that is lost, and the misery 
that is entailed, by this dominating mischief, and espe- 
cially the suicides which it occasions, are appalling to con- 
template.* 

The desecration of the Sabbath, is a characteristic of 
Paris, which cannot fail to strike the observation of every 
Englishman. Extensively as this day of religious privilege 
is undervalued in our own metropolis, there is no compa- 
rison between the two cities, in respect to its outward ob- 
servance. In Paris, the markets, and half the shops, are 
open during the morning, and the proportion of men who 
attend worship in the churches is small. After mass the 
Champ de Mars is frequently the scene of horse-racing, 
and Charles X., and his court, were accustomed to en- 
courage this Sunday amusement by their presence. Va- 
rious museums are open to the public during the day ; 
and it is a favourite time for many of the sons of science 
to make excursions into the country, for the purpose of 
collecting specimens of vegetable, or mineral nature. 

In the evening, the numerous coffee-houses are full, the 
shops are shut, the semblance of religion which the morn- 
ing attendance in the churches presented, is over ; the 
public gardens, and all the humbler rendezvous of pleasure 
in the environs, are thronged ; the theatres are open ; the 
Champs Elysees, and the Boulevards, are crowded ; and 
gaiety and dissipation reign triumphant. The Christian 
Sabbath has thus been almost universally lost, as to its 
effect on the population ; and the Catholic religion has 
proved but an inefficient control to the depravity of this 
great city, which is one of the most licentious in Christen- 
dom. With an external decency of manners, with less of 
vulgar and obtrusive vice, than is seen in the English 
capital, Paris is unquestionably in a far more extensively 
and deeply diseased moral condition.! Vice is here legi- 
timated, and can lift its head as virtue, without a. brand. 
Domestic life, the cradle of national morality, the guaran- 

* There is a place in Paris, on the north bank ol" i h< • tied 

la Morgue, in which the b >dies of persons unkn »wn, that ha 
found dead, are exposed for three days to public new, thai they may 
be claimed by their relatives'; and it is calculated that there are three 
cases of suicide to one of murder, though instances of the latter fre- 
quently occur, iYom quarrels at the gambling hou. 

t For several years In succession, 8,000 children, bom in Paris, 
have been deserted by boili their parent . aii i 1 ; 
hospitals. 

VOL. 71. 29 



338 ST. CLOUD. 

tee of social order, and the nursery of religion, has long 
been strangely and extensively polluted ; the home has 
ceased to be the school of virtue, and a predominant licen- 
tiousness, and a laxity in the conjugal bond, have con- 
verted the hearth into an altar to vice. The gospel will 
here have to gain triumphs, almost similar to those which 
it has achieved in heathen countries, in altering the very 
structure of society, and in annihilating practices which, 
though utterly repugnant to Christianity, have obtained 
the sanction of custom, and are not considered disrepu- 
table, in the heart of Christendom. 

Few strangers visit Paris without making an excursion 
to the sumptuous palace of Versailles : nor is there any 
other single object that conveys such an impression of the 
luxury and grandeur of the reign of Louis XIV., that 
brilliant and delusive sera in the French monarchy, which 
was but the prelude to its decline and fall. The city of 
Versailles itself, one of the most beautiful in France, is 
overlooked by the traveller, in his admiration of the vast 
and splendid chateau, the apartments of which are in num- 
ber upwards of 1,500 ; and the w T hole extent of the western 
front is nearly 2,000 feet. 

The extensive gardens are as striking as the fabric it- 
self; and the vast basins, the splendid water-works, and 
fountains ; the pavilions and temples ; the innumerable 
statues ; the parterres, the shrubberies, and the orangery ; 
the magnificent avenues ; the exquisite secluded spots, 
among which are the Bains d'Apollon, and the Bosquet de 
la Colonnade ; in short, the objects of lavish grandeur, 
which are seen on every side, including the two small 
palaces within the precincts, and the theatrical effect of 
the whole scene, complete the picture of a reign of magni- 
ficent conceptions, and of the triumph of the arts, but, at 
the same time, of unbounded and ruinous luxury ; and a 
melancholy gloom seemed to overhang the tranquil lake, 
which lay solemnly shaded at the extremity of the vista 
formed by the trees of the great avenue which leads from 
the terrace ; and the silent stateliness and pomp of all 
things, appeared fraught with the images of revolution, 
and to tell of those scenes with w 7 hich it here opened on 
astonished Europe. 

St. Cloud is a bijou of a palace, with an elegant and 
costly interior, and noble gardens. This was the favourite 
residence of Bonaparte ; and it was at this place that he 
began his extraordinary career, by dissolving the Direc- 
tory who were holding their session in one of the. halls. 
Here too was signed the second capitulation of Paris. 



ST. DENIS. 339 

when the mighty chief finally ceased to reign. On the 
way from this place the rich and beautiful collection of 
porcelain, in the manufactory at Sevres, well repaid our 
curiosity. 

On a former visit to Paris, a remarkable scene present- 
ed itself at Mont Calvaire, at the fete of the ' exaltation of 
the holy cross.' Nothing could exceed this exhibition of 
superstition. Three crosses, with figures on them as large 
as life, stood on the summit of the hill; and, below, a 
ghastly figure represented Christ in the tomb, round which 
devotees were kneeling, and offering tapers. The adja- 
cent church was crowded with worshippers ; and after 
mass, the Bishop of Nancy, in his robes and mitre, with 
his crosier in his hand, and attended by a train-bearer, 
walked down the hill, in procession, to the grave-yard, 
and, standing amidst the tombs, delivered an address to 
the living, exhorting them to pray for the departed. The 
people afterwards re-ascended the hill, singing one of the 
Cantiques de Calvaire, which expressed in the most har- 
rowing language, the lamentations and cries of a soul in 
purgatory. What a strange mixture do Paris, and its en- 
virons present, of superstition and infidelity ! 

St. Denis is a place of great interest, as the burial place 
of the French kings, for more than a thousand years. 
Louis XIV. declared that the reason why he left his pa- 
lace at St. Germain was, that he did not like to see the 
steeple of St. Denis always before his eyes. Alas ! the 
glories of his reign were not those which would tend to 
render agreeable the contemplation of the hour, when he 
must be numbered among his ancestors, in the last of all 
pomps, that of death ! During the revolution, so great 
was the hatred against monarchy, that the bodies of several 
of the kings were dragged from their repose, and their 
bones scattered in the air ; but the tombs have been re- 
stored, and the crypts in which they are contained, con- 
stitute one of the most impressive and interesting sights 
in the neighbourhood of Paris. I» one part of the vaults, 
we saw the coffin of the unfortunate Prince de Conde, in a 
dark apartment, gloomily lighted by a lamp which is al- 
ways kept burning. 

The church itself is undergoing a thorough repair, and 
will be one of the most brilliant temples of Romanism, 
though the oriflamme of the ancient kings no longer waves 
over its altar, and its treasury, once among the richest in 
Christendom, is despoiled. The tomb of Francis 1., which 
is in the nave is considered the finest in Prance. Bona- 
parte did much to restore this beautiful church, after it 
was dismantled, in the reign of anarchy ; and he wax am- 



340 AMIENS. 

bitious to mingle his ashes, here, with those of the legiti- 
mate monarchs, in a vault, for the security of which he 
prepared massy brazen gates: but his last home was 
destined to be in another, and far distant clime. 

A tedious journey to Calais, of two nights and a day, 
relieved by a stay at Amiens just long enough to inspect 
the stately cathedral, and a short but stormy passage 
across the channel, brought us to the white cliffs of Dover, 
and to the shores which Almighty Goodness defended by 
the billows that roll upon them, when the flames of war 
desolated the Continent of Europe. 



THE END. 








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